New York ( CNN ) -- Two men have been arrested in a bold and bizarre jewelry store robbery involving crooks who disguised themselves in Hasidic Jewish attire , complete with hats and false beards , police announced Tuesday . But all was not as it seemed , according to police . The heist was actually an elaborate inside job set up by the store 's owners , who were $ 1 million in debt and six months behind on their rent , police said . The New York Police Department announced Tuesday that Atul Shah , 43 , and Mahaveer Kankariya , 43 , both of New Jersey , have been arrested on charges of grand larceny , insurance fraud and falsifying business records . The two men , co-owners of the Dialite Imports jewelry store in Manhattan 's diamond district , are in custody , authorities said . The costumed robbers connected to the crime remain at large . According to NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne , two armed men casually walked into the commercial office building where Dialite Imports was located on the afternoon of December 31 , 2008 . They were dressed in traditional looking Orthodox-style clothing and quickly gained access to the store 's safe , spray-painting two security cameras in the process . The two thieves appeared to make off with about $ 4 million in diamonds and other jewels . Immediately after the robbery , Shah told the New York Post that his insurance company had instructed him to refrain from commenting about the heist . `` They told me I can not say anything right now , '' he said at the time . But police said Tuesday that investigators became suspicious of the incident when it was discovered that Shah and Kankariya got a new insurance policy just before the apparent robbery . The owners of the jewelry company hired the two men `` to play the armed robbers and dressed them up as Hasidic Jews to avoid causing suspicion , '' Browne said . The robbery and security camera footage of the two supposed orthodox outlaws gained particular attention because of the similarities between the staged robbery and the 2000 movie `` Snatch , '' in which diamond thieves donned similar outfits for their burglary .
On New Year 's Eve 2008 , two people disguised as Hasidic Jews robbed jewelry store . Heist was actually an elaborate inside job set up by the store 's owners , police say . Police says co - owners were $ 1 million in debt and six months behind on their rent . Two were charged with grand theft , insurance fraud , falsifying business records .