State of Alaska sues jeweller
by Tamanna Bhasin | June 3, 2024 10:30 am
A lawsuit filed in Alaska Superior Court pushes legal action against Alaska-based Soni Jewelers (also operating under the name Colors Fine Jewelers) and its owner Sunita Lakhwani. The state’s attorney general Treg R. Taylor asserts that Lakhwani’s store misrepresented man-made gold quartz and imitation nuggets as natural gold mined in Alaska.
According to JCK[1], Lakhwani allegedly misled customers by claiming their gold quartz jewellery was crafted from 24K gold mined in Alaska and “worth thousands of dollars per ounce.” Subsequent testing has proven this claim to be false—the gold-coloured veins in Lakhwani’s stones are made of a low-purity allow containing roughly fifty per cent gold.
Further, undercover investigators who visited the store were informed by employees that Lakhwani’s gold nuggets were made of 24K Alaskan gold. However, testing has revealed these nuggets to be 14K gold imitation “shaped to resemble a natural nugget.”
Lakhwani and her business have been charged with one count of violating Alaska’s Unfair Trade Practices Act and have been served with a motion for a restraining order to prohibit further false claims.
- JCK: https://www.jckonline.com/editorial-article/alaska-fake-gold-nuggets/
Source URL: https://www.jewellerybusiness.com/news/state-of-alaska-sues-jeweller/