The FBI and NYPD raided a business in New York City’s Diamond District Tuesday that investigators say worked with a South American transnational theft group that has been targeting homes belonging to wealthy individuals across the country.
Investigators said they are looking into whether any suspects involved in recent burglaries of numerous star athletes’ homes are connected to this alleged fencing location. A “fencing” operation involves the buying and selling of stolen goods.
One man was arrested Tuesday morning on West 47th Street near Sixth Avenue. Dozens of FBI agents and NYPD Major Case detectives searched the second-floor business. A second man was taken into custody later in the day, officials familiar with the case said.
Later on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced that two men connected to the Manhattan business, described as a pawn shop, were arrested based on a federal grand jury indictment charging each with conspiracy to receive stolen property and receiving stolen property, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.
The defendants were identified as Dimitriy Nezhinskiy and Juan Villar. It’s not clear if they have retained lawyers for the matter.
Mia Eisner-Grynberg, deputy attorney-in-charge at Federal Defenders of New York — public defenders for those accused of federal crimes — said by email that she believes the defendants will be arraigned in court Wednesday, at which point defense attorneys may be assigned.
Three sources familiar with the matter say investigators are looking into whether individuals connected to the break-in at the home of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow are linked to any of the suspects running the alleged fencing operation. Officials speaking on condition of anonymity cautioned the investigation is ongoing.
Nezhinskiy and Villar are alleged to have knowingly purchased high-end stolen goods with the intention of reselling them, according to the criminal complaint. Previous court records tie both men to a business at 74 West 47th Street, where the name Manhattan Gold & Diamond Buyers, Inc. was used.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Nezhinskiy and Villar are linked to thefts across the United States by evidence that includes phone contact between Nezhinskiy and two of four people suspected of being part of a crew that burglarized the home of a “high-profile athlete in Ohio” on Dec. 9.
That’s the same date a break-in at Burrow’s home took place. Court documents in the case of four men from Chile arrested as part of an investigation into coast-to-coast burglaries of high-end homes with sometimes high-profile residents state that a Bengals hat allegedly stolen during that December break-in was spotted by detectives in an SUV used by the suspects.
An LSU football shirt believed to have been taken in the Dec. 9 burglary was also spotted in the Chevrolet SUV after Ohio State Police officers stopped it on Interstate 70 on Jan. 10 during an investigation of the burglaries, according to the documents in that case.
The suspects in that case are charged with corrupt activity, participation in a criminal gang and possessing burglary tools, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced last month. They were charged under a state grand jury indictment.
All four pleaded not guilty to those charges, according to court records. They’re being represented by the public defender’s office in Clark County, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement that Nezhinskiy was in contact with a crew suspected in the Dec. 9 break-in “less than one week before the burglary in Ohio.”
An FBI New York spokesman earlier confirmed an arrest at the Diamond District location, based on a warrant out of the Eastern District of New York. Brooklyn U.S. Attorney spokesman John Marzulli declined comment.
The search at the location on 47th Street tied to the Brooklyn defendants turned up “large quantities of suspected stolen property,” included dozens of high-end watches and jewels, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in Tuesday’s statement.
A simultaneous search of New Jersey storage units belonging to Nezhinskiy turned up high-end handbags, wine, sports memorabilia, jewelry, artwork and burglary tools, the office alleged.
“Nezhinskiy and Villar regularly served as ‘fences’ for burglary crews based out of South America who traveled around the United States committing burglaries, typically targeting wealthier neighborhoods or jewelry vendors, and stealing luxury accessories,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in its statement. “Nezhinskiy and Villar’s operation provided an essential market for the stolen goods.”
Prosecutors allege the two have been selling stolen goods for at least five years, according to the statement.
“The defendants created an illicit market and fueled demand for burglaries by South American Theft Groups and other crews around the country by purchasing stolen watches, jewelry and other luxury items, and then re-selling them in their New York City store,” John J. Durham, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in his office’s statement.
Saying such break-ins have “a corrosive effect” on Americans’ sense of security, Durham vowed to pursue transnational burglary crews.
Two sources said additional arrests were being made in Florida in connection with a South American transnational theft group that is believed to be targeting the homes of NFL and NBA players and other wealthy individuals.
Neither the U.S. attorney’s office in Tampa nor the FBI’s Tampa office immediately responded to requests for comment Tuesday.
The NFL and NBA in November issued security alerts to players advising them of break-ins, some of which happened while players were on the road with their teams. NBA star Luka Doncic along with other players like Bobby Portis and Mike Conley Jr. have had their homes targeted. Also falling victim, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce.
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