Guilty: NY Pair Fenced $5m for "Crime Tourists"
July 24, 25
(IDEX Online) - Two men who ran a pawn shop in New York's diamond district have pleaded guilty to fencing up to $5m of watches, jewelry and other luxury goods that had been stolen by South American Theft Groups (STAGs).
Dimitriy Nezhinskiy, 43, and Juan Villar, 48, were arrested in February on suspicion of conspiring with "crime tourists" who traveled the US targeting wealthier neighborhoods or jewelry vendors.
Villar pleaded guilty last month (16 June) to each to one federal charge: conspiracy to receive stolen property transported in interstate commerce. One burglary victim was NFL quarterback Joe Burrow.
Nezhinskiy has now also pleaded guilty to the same charge, according to an update from the US Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York, dated last Friday (18 July).
It said Nezhinskiy faces a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment as well as restitution of approximately $2.5m and forfeiture of more than $2.5m.
"For more than five years, Dimitriy Nezhinskiy established a demand for stolen merchandise, which allowed South American Theft Groups to profit from repeated burglaries," said FBI assistant director in charge Christopher G. Raia.
"His purchases perpetuated a ripple of criminality targeting residences and business across the country."
According to court filings, Nezhinskiy and Villar bought stolen property from the STAG crews for cash, providing an essential market for the stolen goods, perpetuating the dangerous criminal activities of the burglary and theft crews composed largely of foreign nationals.
Evidence linked the pair to thefts from at least two dozen residential or commercial burglaries across the US between 2019 and 2025. There were caught after buying "stolen goods" from undercover police officers.