NYC lawsuit says father and son stole $3.5 million in diamonds
NYC lawsuit says father and son stole $3.5 million in diamonds
June 28, 2007, 6:35 PM EDT
NEW YORK --
Dozens of New York City diamond dealers filed a
lawsuit Thursday accusing a father-and-son company of stealing more
than $3.5 million worth of gems they had on consignment.
Shalom S. Taub and son Alfred Avi Taub, 28, ran A. Taub Diamond
Corp. from April 2006 until earlier this month, when they abandoned
their office on Manhattan's West 47th Street diamond district and
vanished, according to the lawsuit filed in Manhattan's state
Supreme Court.
The Taubs took with them millions of dollars in diamonds they
received on consignment from at least 45 dealers, court papers say,
which they got by carefully building trust in the industry during
preceding year.
Cindy Molloy, the plaintiffs' lawyer, said there are even more
dealers victimized by the Taubs, but 45 are listed on the suit. She
would not say whether police were investigating the dealers'
complaints.
The custom in the diamond industry is for a seller to take
stones from a wholesaler, for possible sale to a third party, after
signing a consignment memo. The memo states that the seller who
receives the gems is liable for them until he and the wholesaler
reach an agreement on what will happen to them.
From April 11 to and May 31, 2007 the Taubs and an associate,
Shiran Atias, 24, inked 70 consignment memos with 45 dealers,
acquiring $3,358,409 in diamonds that were never returned,
according to the suit.
An exhibit attached to the complaint shows the dealers lost
individual amounts ranging from $18,000 to about $500,000.
The lawsuit asks for a judgment of the cash value of the
diamonds plus punitive damages "in an amount that would send a
message to defendants that their conduct was unacceptable and
morally reprehensible."
No one answered telephones at numbers listed for the Taubs.
Molloy said she had been unable to contact them or Atias and she
did not know whether they have lawyers.
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Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.
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