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New York, NY--Two Diamond District merchants appeared in a Brooklyn federal court on February 5, charged with fencing large amounts of stolen goods for multiple burglary crews operating across the United States. According to Yahoo News, prosecutors allege that one of the merchants, 43-year-old Dimitriy Nezhinskiy, had contact with a Chilean crew linked to a break-in at Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home less than a week before the burglary.

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Nezhinskiy and his accomplice, 48-year-old Queens resident Juan Villar, are also tied to a thief accused of committing at least 16 home burglaries from 2019 to 2020. Federal prosecutors say the two men worked with at least five burglary crews, including so-called South American Theft Groups, or SATGs, and trafficked in stolen watches, jewelry, handbags, and other high-end items.

Officials conducted seven undercover sales at Nezhinskiy’s Midtown pawn shop between October 2022 and January 2024, according to the Yahoo News report. A raid on the shop on Monday uncovered high-value watches, jewelry, cash, and marijuana. More stolen property—handbags, wine, sports memorabilia, jewelry, artwork, and safe-cracking tools—was found in Nezhinskiy’s storage units in New Jersey, prosecutors said.

Both defendants have prior criminal records, and prosecutors argue their alleged fence operation encouraged organized burglary crews. Nezhinskiy’s lawyer, Todd Greenberg, countered that there was no violence involved, saying, “We would have heard.”

Magistrate Judge Lara Eshkenazi granted Nezhinskiy a $1 million bond, secured by his father’s savings and equity from two New Jersey condos. Villar’s attorney offered a $250,000 bond package, but the judge requested a larger amount before approving his release. Both men await further proceedings on federal charges.

Learn more in this report on Yahoo News.