Five tons of gold and silver jewelry, seized as a result of a money-laundering investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, is being sold by sealed bid by the U.S. Marshals Service.
The service announced today that the gold and silver jewelry can be reviewed at an undisclosed site in Texas – by appointment only – to registered bidders. Registration for the auction is open until Friday and requires a $100,000 refundable deposit.
The bulk lot consists of more than 40,000 troy ounces of mixed-karat gold jewelry and more than 100,000 troy ounces of silver jewelry, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The catalog, terms and conditions, and registration form can be found online at .
Sealed bids can be submitted by email, mail or courier and are due no later than 2 p.m. eastern daily time on May 17.
Selection of the winning bidder will be made on May 17.
The money-laundering investigation involved two Panama companies that were laundering narcotics proceeds from the United States, according to investigators.
Yardena Hebroni and Eliahu Mizrani were charged with laundering millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds through a wholesale jewelry business, Speed Joyeros S.A., and a related company, Argento Vivo, S.A., which together did more than $100 million annually.
Hebroni and Mizrahi, and both companies, pleaded guilty to money laundering.
The proceeds from the sale will be transferred to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Assets Forfeiture Fund.Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
