Bling-maker to the stars, Jacob ‘The Jeweller’ Arabov will face trial on money laundering charges in Detroit after a judge denied his request to move the case to New York.
Arabov and 16 others are accused of conspiring to launder $270 million in drug profits starting in the early 1990s for a multistate drug ring operating from Detroit.
Arabov, whose jewellery has been worn by celebrities like Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and 50 Cent, was arrested in June 2006 at his store in New York.
The 41-year-old has pleaded not guilty.
Arabov’s lawyer argued the trial should be moved to New York as his client shouldn’t be trialled alongside drug-dealing suspects and it would be too costly for him to defend himself in Detroit, but U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn disagreed.
"You should prepare yourself for a trial in the Eastern District of Michigan," Cohn said.
