American jeweller pleads guilty to swindling more than $184K

by Tamanna Bhasin | February 2, 2024 10:14 am

Laura Bee, a former manager at the now-shuttered Ever Love Jewelry in Huntington Village, N.Y., recently entered a guilty plea to one count of third-degree grand larceny. She admitted to swindling approximately C$184,400 (US$137,000) from customers and other jewellers over a three year-period.

According to a report from JCK[1], Bee reportedly defrauded customers of approximately C$63,000 (US$47,000) between October 2020 and August 2022, by selling lab-grown diamond engagement rings and duping them into believing they were buying natural diamond pieces. Subsequent appraisals by customers revealed the extent of Bee’s scheme.

The plea highlighted a specific 2021 incident, where Bee had agreed to repair a diamond engagement ring valued at around C$20,000 (US$15,000). However, she replaced the original natural diamond with a synthetic stone worth approximately C$2,700 (US$2,000).

Bee was also accused of stealing around C$67,300 (US$50,000) by knowingly writing bad cheques to other jewellers. Additionally, she allegedly misappropriated approximately C$41,700 (US$31,000) of jewellery from friends, promising to sell items on their behalf, but failing to provide compensation or return the items. These incidents reportedly spanned from mid-2019 through 2022.

As per JCK, Bee has promised to provide restitution to the victims.  

Source URL: https://www.jewellerybusiness.com/news/american-jeweller-charged-with-swindling-over-184k-pleads-guilty/

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