Queens Jeweler Convicted In Luxury Watch Robbery And Money Laundering Scheme

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict today against STANISLAV YAKUBOV, a/k/a “Steve,” on three counts in a Superseding Indictment, including one count of money laundering conspiracy and two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement agents.  YAKUBOV is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1, 2023, by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos, who presided over the eight-day trial.     

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Stanislav Yakubov agreed to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of diamond-encrusted, stolen luxury watches that had been taken during violent robberies, the victims of which included jewelers from Yakubov’s own community.  Yakubov’s actions fueled a year-long robbery spree that targeted nearly a dozen victims, and his conviction sends a message to the community that the purchase and laundering of stolen property will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted.”

Photographs of some of the stolen watches are set forth below.  If you believe you know the whereabouts of any of these watches, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York at 1-866-874-8900, and reference this case:

According to the Superseding Indictment and the evidence presented at trial:

From at least in or about October 2019 up to and including November 2020, STANISLAV YAKUBOV, and others known and unknown, agreed to purchase stolen watches worth up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, each that had been taken during armed robberies.  The watches owned by victims targeted in the robberies included diamond-encrusted Richard Mille, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe watches owned by jewelers as part of the jewelers’ businesses based in Manhattan’s Diamond District and elsewhere.  

The robberies and attempted robberies included the following: 

1. On October 3, 2019, a jeweler in Long Island City, New York, was robbed of, among other things, a Richard Mille watch worth over $150,000.
2. On October 25, 2019, a jeweler in Jamaica, New York, was robbed of, among other things, a Rolex watch worth over $118,000.
3. On December 10, 2019, a jeweler in Brooklyn, New York, was robbed of, among other things, a Patek Philippe watch worth over $160,000 and a diamond necklace worth over $77,000. 
4. On January 14, 2020, a jeweler in Rego Park, New York, was robbed of, among other things, a Richard Mille watch worth over $500,000.
5. On February 16, 2020, a jeweler in Jamaica Estates, New York, was robbed of, among other things, an Audemars Piguet watch worth over $28,000.
6. On February 20, 2020, an individual in Long Island City, New York, was robbed of, among other things, an Audemars Piguet watch worth over $125,000.
7. On June 11, 2020, a jeweler in Brooklyn, New York, was robbed of, among other things, a Richard Mille watch worth over $148,000. 
8. On July 6, 2020, a jeweler in Hoboken, New Jersey, was robbed of, among other things, a Richard Mille watch worth over $81,000. 
9. On July 20, 2020, a jeweler in Queens, New York, was the victim of an attempted robbery involving a Richard Mille watch worth over $180,000.
10. On August 2, 2020, a food critic/social media influencer was robbed of, among other things, a Richard Mille watch worth over $250,000 in the vicinity of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 

In addition, on or about October 20, 2020, and March 24, 2021, YAKUBOV knowingly and willfully made false statements to federal law enforcement officers investigating the robbery spree.  YAKUBOV falsely said, among other things, that he never purchased any watches from the robbery crew and that the robbers were merely customers who had purchased jewelry from YAKUBOV in the past.

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YAKUBOV, 42, of Queens, New York, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum prison term of 20 years, and two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement agents, each of which carry a maximum prison term of five years.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the New York City Police Department.  Mr. Williams also thanked the Bergen County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Office, the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Police Department, the Weehawken, New Jersey, Police Department, and the Nassau County Police Department for their assistance.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mathew Andrews, Andrew K. Chan, and Thomas John Wright, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Grayson Glogoff, are in charge of the prosecution.