MIAMI — Almost $1 million in diamonds, stolen in 2017 as a part of an elaborate scheme wherein infamous conman James Sabatino pretended to be a music govt representing Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, had been just lately recovered by the FBI in Miami.

Sabatino, 46, is presently serving a 20-year jail sentence on the highest safety jail within the nation for stealing greater than $10 million in jewels and different objects, together with the Timberlake-Biel jewels.

What made Sabatino’s crimes much more outstanding is that he dedicated them from his jail cell on the Federal Detention Heart in Miami the place he was awaiting trial on different costs.

Utilizing unlawful cell telephones smuggled into the federal jail by corrupt guards, Sabatino would contact main jewelers pretending to be an govt with both a significant music firm, like Sony Music or Common Music Group.

Based on federal prosecutors, he ran this “prison-based prison group” from October 2014 to Aril 2017.

Throughout that point, Sabatino, utilizing the title of precise music executives, would persuade the jewelers he was working with outstanding artists — Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce had been amongst his favorites — and that he wanted diamond rings and necklaces for the ladies to put on of their upcoming music movies.

Utilizing unlawful telephones and tablets, he would create bogus e mail accounts that seemed like they got here from music firms to make his requests appear much more respectable, officers mentioned.

Jewellery firms who had been longing for the publicity would comply, and by sending instances of jewels by armed courier to an tackle Sabatino offered, the place his co-conspirators would signal for them and attempt to promote them.

“Sabatino’s scheme resulted within the theft of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in jewellery,” FBI Particular Agent Robert Giczy wrote in an affidavit.

On this case, Sabatino claimed to be working at Common Music on behalf of Timberlake and Biel, and claimed the couple had been making ready to shoot a music video collectively on Miami Seashore.

Forevermark, a subsidiary of the diamond large De Beers, rapidly agreed and dispatched 9 items of knickknack, together with a 7.29 carat oval minimize diamond value roughly $326,000 and an 8.55 carat emerald minimize diamond value $580,000.

The jewels had been delivered to the Ritz Carlton Resort on Miami Seashore.

A number of days later, Forevermark realized it had been hoodwinked.

Sabatino didn’t work for Common, didn’t characterize Timberlake or Biel, and there was no music video.

As an alternative, the diamonds went bye, bye, bye.

Lots of the stolen jewels have by no means been recovered. 

Nevertheless in June, the Gemological Institute of America, which charges the standard of diamonds, notified the FBI that it had acquired two diamonds that appeared to match the outline of two of the stolen jewels from the fake Timberlake-Biel scheme.

Based on courtroom information, the diamonds had been despatched in June to the Gemological Institute by a jeweler in Boca Raton. There isn’t any indication that the Boca Raton jeweler knew the diamonds had been stolen or how he acquired them.

In September, Assistant U.S. Lawyer Gabrielle Raemy Charest-Turken, filed a movement to have the diamonds returned to Forevermark. The FBI is continuous to analyze.

Forevermark declined to remark.

Sabatino, who plead responsible in 2017, is presently housed within the highest safety jail within the nation – the SuperMax facility in Colorado. 

Jim DeFede

Jim DeFede joined CBS4 Information in January 2006 and serves as an investigative reporter for the station, in addition to host of its Sunday morning public affairs program “Dealing with South Florida.”