Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. has announced the indictment of Alex Borders, also known as Alex Hollinger, for orchestrating a fraudulent diamond business scam that swindled over $300,000 in jewelry from victims and unpaid wages from an employee, according to the Manhattan DA's office. The indictment includes charges of Grand Larceny and Issuing a Bad Check, highlighting the lengths to which Borders went to perpetrate this alleged fraud between August 2023 and May 2024.

The scheme involved Hollinger Diamonds placing ads in esteemed publications such as The New Yorker and GQ, which lured at least five individuals into sending their jewelry for promised immediate payment, the victims were drawn by the allure of the ads and the company's website, however, Borders wrote checks from closed or insufficient accounts causing the checks to bounce when the victims tried to cash them and when they pursued payment, Borders eluded their communication attempts or fed them excuses. In addition to duping jewelry sellers, District Attorney Bragg pointed out that the recent Senate Bill S2832A strengthens the ability to prosecute wage theft, under which Borders has been charged for not providing over $3,000 in earnings to a full-time executive assistant employed at the sham diamond company.

The Manhattan DA urges anyone else who may have fallen victim to Borders' scheme to contact the Financial Frauds Bureau. The case is currently under the charge of Assistant D.A. Luis Morales of the Immigrant Affairs Unit with the assistance of Assistant D.A. Joseph Pepe of the Financial Frauds Bureau, under the supervision of several other legal aides and investigators who have been indispensable in building the case against Borders.