Jeweler Jailed for 77-carat Diamond Scam
August 02, 22
(IDEX Online) - A jeweler in the US has been jailed for more than 12 years after pleading guilty to an investment scam involving a 77-carat "Yellow Rose" diamond.
Joseph DuMouchelle, 61, persuaded a client to make a wire transfer to the seller's account for $12m, claiming he could sell it on for $16m.
But the money went into his own account and he promptly withdrew it to pay off personal and business debts, a court in Birmingham, Michigan, heard.
DuMouchelle made headlines in 2000 when he sold the 7.45-carat emerald-cut Harry Winston engagement ring (pictured) that Donald Trump gave to actress Marla Maples for $110,000.
And then again in 2016 for $300,000 when he sold it for the second time, after the couple who'd bought it decided to sell.
Dumouchelle, son of the late famed auctioneer Lawrence DuMouchelle, and owner of DuMouchelle Fine & Estate Jewelers, defrauded investors out of a total of $25m, the judge said.
He was sentenced 151 months in prison last week, after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud at an earlier hearing.
The court also ordered Dumouchelle to forfeit $12m for the fraud he committed. Following his release from prison, he will serve a three-year term of supervised release.
"White collar criminals may use sophisticated methods and apparently legitimate businesses, but their crimes amount to nothing more than lying to get money," said United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
"Victims were often targeted because of their involvement in the jewelry investment, purchase, and auction trade, or were family members and friends of Dumouchelle.
"Victims were lulled into believing Dumouchelle's false promises because he held himself out to be an expert with valuable connections that would provide them substantial profits."