An Indian couple swindled prominent Manhattan philanthropist and Asiaphile Shelley Rubin out of $18 million — by selling her supposedly “museum quality” diamond- and emerald-encrusted jewels that turned out to be cheap knockoffs commonly found in tourist bazaars, according to a new lawsuit.
“This is a case grounded in fraud,” the Park Avenue benefactress fumes in a new Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit over the alleged scam.
Rubin, who spent $100 million to co-found the Rubin Museum of Art in 2004, said she was scammed by Nisha and Mohit Sabharwal. The Chelsea museum specializes in art from the Indian subcontinent.
The Sabharwals masqueraded as members of their country’s political elite with connections to its royalty, according to court papers.
Nisha Sabharwal, 56, met Rubin at an Asia Society event in 2009 and immediately began to ingratiate herself” with the 73-year-old philanthropist, praising her generosity and complementing her taste in large pieces of jewelry with “an Asian/Indian aesthetic,” the suit says.
“From nearly the beginning of their discussions, Nisha raised the idea of building a ‘museum quality’ collection, as an investment,” the suit says.
“The ploy grew over time, and Nisha repeatedly played up the idea of creating an ‘important,’ ‘museum quality’ collection of bona fide historical Indian jewelry,” according to court papers.
Sabharwal allegedly claimed to have access “to a princess descended from a historically prominent family in India” who needed cash quickly.
So Rubin thought she was getting a deal on pieces like a $1 million diamond necklace for just $470,000– only to find out from an expert that it was worth just $14,000.
“While Rubin was quite knowledgeable about various art forms, she had no particular expertise in jewelry,” the suit says.
Rubin went on a five-year spending spree before learning that she’d spent millions to purchase dyed stones pasted onto bracelets and necklaces, her suit says. She uncovered the alleged scam when she had the pieces appraised for insurance purposes in 2015.
The Sabharwals were aware that the “vast majority of the pieces sold were knock-offs created in the last 20 years,”according to court papers.
Rubin was also advised by an appraiser that her collection consisted of “modern pieces made to look old, of the sort that were found in bazaars tourists frequented,” the suit says.
The couple sheltered their “ill-gotten gains” in a Florida company and then used the proceeds to invest in real estate, the suit says.
They did not immediately return calls for comment.