FBI: Russian crime ring led by N.J. man involved in huge chocolate heist
Razhden Shulaya, 40, of Edgewater, Bergen County, is the subject of a federal investigation into the theft of 10,000 pounds of chocolate from cargo ships.
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A New Jersey man is the subject of a federal investigation into the theft of 10,000 pounds of chocolate, among other things.
Razhden Shulaya, 40, of Edgewater, Bergen County, was identified on Wednesday by the FBI as the leader of an alleged organized crime ring called the Shulaya Enterprise and involved in extortion, fraud, and chocolate theft, NJ.com reported.
Shulaya Enterprise has ties to former Soviet Union countries, including Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine, authorities said. It has operations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Nevada. Shuylaya was among those arrested in a sweep this week.
The group allegedly orchestrated a variety of illegal activities including illicit poker businesses in Brooklyn, attempts to defraud casinos in Atlantic City and Philadelphia, transportation and sale of untaxed cigarettes, plans to bribe local law enforcement, as well as using women to seduce men, incapacitating them with gas and then robbing them, Joon H. Kim, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.
The large amount of chocolate was stolen from cargo ships, Kim said.
The U.S. Attorneys Office unsealed three indictments and one complaint charging 33 defendants with a variety of racketeering, fraud, narcotics, firearms, and stolen property offenses.
The gang organized illegal gambling, credit card schemes and the thefts of stolen goods. Members were arrested in New York, Florida, and Nevada, Joon said in a statement.