Alleged Husband and Wife Diamond Thieves Denied Bond

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- A husband and wife accused of operating a million-dollar diamond theft ring will have to remain in jail while their case proceeds through the justice system.

A Fulton County Superior Court judge has denied bond for Eliahu E. Shetrit and Ayelet C. Ellituv, and both will be remanded to the Fulton County Jail as they wait the outcome of a 58-felony count indictment handed down by a grand jury.

The pair have been charged with violating the Georgia RICO --racketeering -- Act, identity fraud, theft by taking, forgery in the third degree, computer theft, theft of services and Georgia securities violations, the Fulton County District Attorney's Office said.

According to the indictment, the duo orchestrated a "massive" Ponzi scheme between November 2012 and August 2014. The operation spanned the East Coast, and victimized 10 residents in Sandy Springs, two New York residents, a diamond wholesale business and a Fortune 500 company.

The district attorney's office contends both defendants have a history of attempting to evade arrest. In 2015, after an arrest warrant was issued by the Sandy Springs Police Department, Ellituv was found at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City, waiting to board an international flight.

After both defendants were apprehended, they received a conditional bond and were required to surrender their passports. Shetrit surrendered his to the state on March 3, 2015, but just 24 hours later, he petitioned the Israeli Embassy for a one-way travel permit for citizens who lost passports.

According to NBC Connecticut, after the pair was granted bond in 2015, they went on the run again and settled in the northeast.

They were arrested in mid-February after turning themselves in to authorities. The station reported that the couple was living a "lavish" lifestyle, which included renting a mansion owned by a former politician.

The motion for bond was heard by Superior Court Judge John Goger, who said he found the actions by the pair to be “very disturbing.”

“I have a visceral distrust that the defendants will appear where they say they will appear,” Judge Goger said as he denied the defendants' motion.

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