A Fulton County judge has denied bond to two people accused of swindling people out of $1.4 million in diamonds, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Prosector Brad Malkin told the judge that Eliahu Shetrit and Ayelet Ellituve, who were arrested in Connecticut, were flight risks, could commit other crimes, or intimidate witnesses, according to the station.
Malkin called the situation a “classic Ponzi scheme, essentially.”
Sandy Springs jeweler Bobbi Livnat testified that she gave the couple $200,000 in diamonds to sell, but she never got it back, Channel 2 reported. And Livnat said she never got any money from them, either.
“I have with small teams of other victims been chasing these con artists around the country, trying to bring them to justice,” Livnat said.
Oded Livnat, who allegedly lost $180,000 to the couple, testified, "He was very adamant about the fact that we better not approach the law system about this because if we do we never see our money back again."
In all, 10 Sandy Springs residents and people and businesses elsewhere in the United States were victims of the couple, according to the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. A 58-count indictment charges the suspects with such offenses as RICO (racketeering) violation, identity fraud and theft by taking, prosecutors said.
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