SAN ANTONIO – The U.S. Marshals are set to hold a national jewelry sale Friday at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
The auction will showcase watches, diamonds, necklaces, coins and bullion from federal crime cases nationwide.
"This is how the program works. The more we can take stuff away from the bad guys, we take the profit out of crime. And then by taking their proceeds to further strengthen law enforcement and help compensate the ones they hurt, we are able to give back," said U.S. Marshal Jason Martinez.
The assets seized come from several agencies under the Department of Justice.
"This represents assets from DEA, FBI (and) ATF," Martinez said.
Each individual piece was seized in high-profile cases. In all, $2.7 million worth of jewelry will be for sale.
"Another case that we have would be the yellow diamond from Ohio where a defense contractor was actually taking money from the Department of Defense, creating false electronic invoicing and defrauding them of millions of dollars," said Martinez.
The auction will kick off Friday at 10 a.m.
If you are not able to attend in person, there's an online simulcast at the auctioneers website.