Monishkumar Doshi Shah pleads guilty to evading customs duties and operating an unlicensed financial business in New York’s Diamond District.
Newark, NJ — In a stark revelation of international trade fraud, Monishkumar Kirankumar Doshi Shah, a businessman based in both India and New Jersey, confessed to orchestrating a multimillion-dollar scheme to dodge U.S. customs duties on imported jewelry and illicitly operating a substantial money-transmitting operation. Shah’s admission came during his appearance before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in federal court in Newark, where he faced charges that could lead to a combined maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Intricate Web of Deceit
From December 2019 to April 2022, Shah exploited global trade mechanisms to avoid paying over $13.5 million in customs duties by rerouting jewelry shipments through South Korea. Originally shipped from Turkey and India, where they would incur a 5.5 percent duty, these goods were relabeled in South Korea to appear as originating there, effectively sidestepping U.S. duties.