Jeweler Mark Simon was arrested at his Putnam Valley home on March 12 and accused of fencing more than $1 million in stolen jewelry for a South Florida gang.
Simon paid an estimated $135,000 to $175,000 for the stolen jewelry, according to an indictment issued on Feb. 25 by a Miami federal grand jury. The gang also stole an additional $3.6 million in cash and jewelry in two thefts, but the indictment does not allege how much Simon offered to pay for those goods.
Simon pleaded not guilty to money laundering in White Plains federal court, and was released from custody on posting a $50,000 appearance bond.
The indictment refers to the gang as a South American Theft Group made up primarily of Colombian nationals or individuals of Colombian descent.
The gang targeted jewelry stores and traveling salespeople in Florida, Georgia and California. To convert the hot goods to cash, the gang needed a fence: someone who would buy stolen goods at below-market values.
Mark Simon, according to the indictment, was the fence.
He allegedly traveled to Florida several times to buy stolen jewelry, returned to New York with the goods, then shipped packages of currency to the gang. The packages were addressed to fake business names, according to the indictment, to conceal the names of his co-conspirators and the nature of the transactions.
Sometimes, the indictment states, Simon concealed his activities by melting gold jewelry and selling it to a refiner.
The indictment describes five jewelry heists from 2019 to 2021.
In September 2019, for example, the gang stole jewelry worth $732,000 from a vehicle in Boca Raton, Florida. Simon traveled to Miami and allegedly picked up the jewelry, returned home to New York, and mailed from $80,000 to $100,000 to members of the gang.
In February 2020 in Boynton Beach, Florida, the gang stole about $2.6 million in jewelry from a traveling salesman. Gang members made multiple calls to Simon, the indictment states, and two weeks after the robbery Simon flew to Fort Lauderdale, rented a hotel room in Miami Lakes, met with members of the gang, agreed to buy a portion of the stolen jewelry, and later mailed money to the gang. The indictment does not say how much he allegedly paid.
In March 2020, the gang burgled a Dalton, Georgia jewelry store and took about $1 million in jewelry. Before and after the burglary, Simon and a member of the gang  exchanged phone calls, according to the indictment. Simon flew to Georgia, but this time the gang decided not to sell stolen jewelry to him.
If convicted of money laundering, the charging papers state, Simon could be imprisoned for as many as 20 years and fined up to $250,000.
