Headlines

Jewelry Distributor Headed to Prison in $3.6M Fraud Case

Published

7 years ago

April 4, 2018

INSTORE Staff

He was sentenced to 48 months.

The owner of a jewelry business in Johnston, RI, has been sentenced to 48 months in prison in connection with a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme.

Gerald Kent, 52, of Groton, CT, admitted that he executed a fraud scheme while selling his company’s jewelry on the internet, primarily using websites such as Groupon.com and Zulily.com. Kent, owner and operator of Kent Jewelry, formerly located in Johnston, RI, pleaded guilty on Dec. 20 to one count each of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Kent was also ordered to serve three years supervised release after he completes his prison time. He will also have to pay $3.6 million in restitution.

Kent was accused of orchestrating a scheme that defrauded a debtor finance company of more than $3.6 million dollars, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island said in a press release.

Authorities alleged that Kent submitted fraudulent invoices to a factoring (debtor finance) company based in Chicago, mostly from Groupon and Zulily, which resulted in payments to Kent of nearly $5 million dollars.

He admitted to:

Creating hundreds of fraudulent invoices.
Creating a fraudulent clone of Groupon’s site.
Enlisting coconspirators to pose as Groupon employees.
Opening bank accounts in the names of Groupon and Zulily in order to deceive the debtor finance company.

You Wouldn’t Cut Your Own Hair. Why Run Your Own Retirement Sale?

After being in business for over a quarter of a century, Wayne Reid, owner of Wayne Jewelers in Wayne, Pennsylvania, decided it was time for a little “me time.” He says, “I’ve reached a point in my life where it’s time to slow down, enjoy a lot of things outside of the jewelry industry. It just seemed to be the right time.” He chose Wilkerson to handle his retirement sale because of their reputation and results. With financial goals exceeded, Reid says he made the right choice selecting Wilkerson to handle the sale. “They made every effort to push our jewelry to the forefront of the showcases,” he says, lauding Wilkerson for their finesse and expertise. Would he recommend them to other jewelers who want to make room for new merchandise, expand their business or like him, decide to call it a day? Absolutely he says, equating trying to do this kind of sale with cutting your own hair. “The results are going to happen but not as well as if you have a professional like Wilkerson do the job for you.”