Patrick McGovern | The Jersey Journal

A Jersey City man has been charged with stealing $50,000 in diamonds from the jewelry store in Newport Centre mall where he works, authorities said.

Mohamed Farouk, 50, of Armstrong Avenue in Jersey City, made his first appearance in Central Judicial Processing court Thursday, where his bail was set at $20,000 with a 10 percent cash option. He is charged with theft by unlawful taking or disposition.

The owner of the White Diamond jewelry store in the Downtown Jersey City mall called police on Oct. 2 to report 2,000 small diamonds that he said were worth $50,000 were missing when he returned from a vacation, a police report said.

The store owner said he saw surveillance footage that showed Farouk, a jewelry repair technician, take a box where the diamonds were stored and bring it to another area of the shop, police said.

Policed they watched the video and did not see the diamonds stolen, but on Oct. 7 Farouk was called into the police station and confessed that he stole the diamonds, according to police.

Farouk said that on Sept. 25 he concealed two bags of small diamonds and left the store, according to the report. Farouk told police he sold the diamonds to a jewelry store on 47th street in Manhattan for $6,000, according to the police report.

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