Dallas Diamond Dealer Arrested on Laundering Charges
August 21, 05A Dallas diamond dealer has been arrested on organized crime charges allegedly laundering more than $100,000 in high-quality diamonds stolen by a local ring of thieves.
According to court records, diamond and jewelry dealer Michael Burke purchased the diamonds from thieves who stole credit card information and bought the stones from Internet retailers across the country, according to the Dallas Morning News. Burke could face five to 99 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Burke is one of eight people indicted in the identity-theft ring.
The thieves searched trash containers for credit card receipts and then used the card numbers to purchase diamonds using a prepaid mobile phone, arranging to either pick up the stones from UPS offices or intercepting the packages as they were being delivered to the homes of the people whose identity had been stolen.
At New York-based Internet diamond dealer diamondsafe.com, Marcy Friedman said the thieves used stolen credit cards in March 2002 to buy an $18,000 ring setting that included a "fancy yellow" diamond that weighed more than 4 carats.
Court documents charge that Burke paid the other suspects $173,700 for approximately 40 stolen diamonds. The documents charge that he sold the jewelry to other retailers nationwide.
It is estimated Burke bought the stones at 50 percent below their real price.