Alleged Diamond Thieves Denied Bail in Georgia

A Connecticut couple accused in a million dollar Ponzi scheme involving gold and diamonds will stay behind bars after a judge in Georgia denied their bail. 

The couple had to turn themselves in to police in Fulton County, Georgia where the charges originally came from.

Tears and hugs among the families who say they were taken by Eli Shetrit and his wife Ayelet Ellituv when the judge made the final decision.

Judge John J. Goger addressed the couple, "There’s something about this, I just, based upon the representation made by the state, I just have a visceral distrust."

“He denies?” the defendant Shetrit asked.

Shetrit and Ellituv are accused of stealing more than $1 million in money, diamonds and identities in the metro area of Atlanta.

In early February, a grand jury handed down the indictment after their initial arrest two years ago, before they were released on bond.

The pair was living in a mansion with their three children in Woodbridge, Connecticut were picked up by local police on Valentine’s Day for Georgia authorities.

Goger said, “I’m a big believer people who are accused of crime, miss having the opportunity to make bond, you know, and that’s the law. Second point, I can’t trust them."

Georgia police add the couple violated conditions of their release, failing to update authorities when they moved.

Last year, a reporter in Atlanta found them living in New York City in a $1.5 million apartment.

In New York, there’s also a civil judgment against Shetrit for $8 million owed to diamond dealers there.

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