(WXYZ) — A criminal complaint has been brought against Joseph DuMouchelle of Joseph DuMouchelle Jewelry Buyers in Birmingham for alleged wire fraud.
According to federal documents, North Dakota resident Thomas Ritter contacted the FBI about his business relationship with DuMouchelle. Ritter allegedly gave DuMouchelle money to purchase jewelry and they would split the profits once the jewelry was sold.
Before January 2019, Ritter contacted DuMouchelle in order to collect the $430,000 DuMouchelle reportedly owed him. Instead, federal documents say DuMouchelle presented an opportunity to purchase a Yellow Rose Diamond from a family trust in Texas. DuMouchelle told Ritter that the owner of the diamond was recently deceased, and a man named William Noble represented the deceased family regarding the sale of the diamond.
DuMouchelle allegedly told Ritter that the diamond could be purchased for $12 million and sold form $16 million. In February, Ritter decided to participate in the transaction involving the Yellow Rose Diamond, with the agreement stipulating that Ritter would receive 75 percent of the profit from the sale and DuMouchelle would receive 25 percent. Ritter reportedly told DuMouchelle that he wanted to wire transfer the funds directly to the seller of the diamond and not DuMouchelle.
According to federal documents, DuMouchelle's wife, Melinda Adducci, later conducted an appraisal of the diamond and sent it to Ritter.
On Feb. 4, DuMouchelle reportedly emailed Ritter with wire instructions. Within the email was an email forwarded from Richard Drucker of Gemworld International, which provided wire instructions to FineMark Bank and Trust with an account that belonged to DuMouchelle and his wife. Ritter initiated the wire transfer, federal officials say, but it was declined by the bank. DuMouchelle reportedly told Ritter it was declined because the dollar amount was "too high."
On Feb. 6, DuMouchelle allegedly sent Ritter another email with new wire instruction, again purportedly from Drucker, with new wire instructions for a Bank of America account.
On Feb. 9, according to federal officials, DuMouchelle sent Ritter an email with the receipt for the purchase of the Yellow Rose Diamond. The receipt described that the diamond was sold on Feb. 6 for $12 million, which was paid in full via wire transfer.
Federal officials interviewed Drucker in October, who said his company is an independent consulting firm and is not in the business of purchasing or selling jewelry. DuMouchelle contacted Drucker and asked him to put together a report on a Yellow Rose Diamond, he told officials, which is not something Drucker said he would typically do, but agreed to it due to their longstanding relationship.
According to federal documents, Drucker did not have any involvement in any transaction involving the diamond, nor did he know who the purchaser and seller were. He was then contacted by Ritter, who said Drucker was represented to Ritter in alleged email communications from DuMouchelle as a representative of the seller.
In April, DuMouchelle told Ritter the diamond was sold to a trust in Bloomfield Hills for $16.5 million. He told Ritter that the purchasersent wire transfers, but FBI officials did not see any deposits or wire transfers associated with the purchaser.
Noble said he never sent the Yellow Rose Diamond to DuMouchelle nor agreed to sell it.
View the full affidavit below:
9570952-0--12076 by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
