Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Note: This press release was corrected to reflect the proper announcing officials.
MIAMI – On May 15, 2025, Adam Jonathan Lowe, 43, of West Pittston, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to over 6 years in federal prison by the Honorable David Leibowitz, stemming from his conviction for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, mail fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, and engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957. Upon release from custody, Lowe must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the victims of his offense.
Previously, on May 13, 2025, co-defendant Murray Todd Petersen, 73, of Fair Oaks, California, was sentenced to 9 years in federal prison by the Honorable James I. Cohn stemming from his conviction after a seven-day jury trial in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349 and wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. Upon release from custody, Petersen must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the victims of his offense.
On October 18, 2024, co-defendant Scott Schafer, 62, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, was sentenced to five years probation stemming from his stemming from his conviction for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.
As outlined in court documents and trial testimony, Adam Jonathan Lowe, as the president of The Diamond Desk and as the manager of PetersenLowe, LLC., was the supplier of fancy-colored diamonds sourced worldwide. Murray Todd Petersen worked as a salesman for PetersenLowe, LLC., who induced investors to purchase Lowe’s fancy-colored diamonds using materially false and fraudulent representations concerning the safety and security of the investments, the value of the investments, the expected profits and rates of return, and the use of investors’ funds. After selling his victims expensive fancy-colored diamonds supplied with fraudulent overvalued appraisals from co-defendant Scott Schafer, Petersen instructed his clients to hold onto their investments often for one to two years prior to looking to liquidate. When trying to cover his investors cash out demands at the overpriced appraisal prices, Petersen and Lowe used another false representation of a China investment program, where they would purportedly invest the victims’ money into the Chinese diamond market with a purported guaranteed five to eight percent monthly dividend return on investment. Unbeknownst to their victims, this new investment program was really a Ponzi scheme in disguise designed to pay off his first round of investor clients. When customers began to complain about missing promised returns and highly inaccurate overvalued appraisals, the scheme pivoted again to a theft model, where investors prepaid for diamonds that were never delivered by either Lowe or Petersen. Petersen took approximately $850,000 in sales commissions from his victims, which he used to pay off his high IRS tax liens and cover his business operating expenses. In total, the scheme netted approximately $13 million and defrauded in excess of 100 victims.
U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida and acting Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI Miami made the announcement.
FBI Miami investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc Anton and Latoya Brown prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marx Calderon is handling asset forfeiture.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-60225.
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