PATERSON – A South Paterson jewellery store robbed at gunpoint last October was one of nine such businesses in four states targeted by a violent crime ring based in Washington, D.C., federal officials say.
The robberies, which took place over a 13-month period beginning in January 2022, focused on what the United States attorney’s office described as “South Asian jewellery stores.”
But federal law enforcement officials did not elaborate on why such stores were targeted by the ring. None of the charges filed against the 16 suspects in the case were for hate crimes.
The robbery of Paradise Jewelry on Main Street in South Paterson on 25 October was the fourth crime in the series and the second involving a New Jersey business, federal officials said.
The same group allegedly robbed Virani Jewelers in Iselin in June 2020 and Chintamanis Inc. in Franklin Park last December, authorities said.
October 2022: More than $1 million in jewellery was stolen from a South Paterson store, police said.
Another burglary: A South Paterson jewellery store is robbed. Its owners say they still never see the police.
“The defendants targeted small businesses up and down the East Coast, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewellery from hard-working families,” said David Sundberg, Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.
The owner of Paradise Jewelry in Paterson said more than $1 million in merchandise was stolen from his store last year. The robbery took place in the late afternoon when one of the gunmen walked up behind an employee as she used the security sensor to enter the store, police said at the time. Two accomplices joined the first robber, and they smashed display cases and grabbed rings, bracelets and other items.
“We allege that these suspects engaged in takeover-style armed robberies designed to intimidate and overwhelm business owners and employees,” said FBI-Newark Special Agent in Charge James Dennehy.
“Many of the victim businesses are family-owned and operated and have lost large amounts of inventory,” Dennehy added. “The alleged violent and reckless actions of these individuals are astounding; they had no regard for the people who could have been seriously injured or even killed.”
The ring is accused of other robberies in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Florida, federal officials said.
