A jeweler in Tulsa, OK, has accused of embezzlement and other crimes after police received “multiple reports of stolen and/or missing jewelry.”
Paul Williams, owner of Jewelry Liquidation, was arrested on Sept. 16, according to a Facebook post from the Tulsa Police Department. He was charged with four counts of embezzlement by employee, and one count each of false declaration of ownership and obtaining money/property under false pretenses.
Police stated: “In each case, the victims dropped off their jewelry for cleaning, repair or appraisal, and the jewelry was retained by the store owner, Paul Williams. Several weeks would go by without any follow up from the owner. Numerous victims reported they made several attempts to check the status of their jewelry, or get their jewelry back, and were never able to contact the owner, Paul Williams.”
Police learned that Jewelry Liquidation closed down and that “everything in the jewelry store was gone.”
“Detectives later learned that the store owner Paul Williams retained thousands of dollars of jewelry under the assumption that he was cleaning, repairing and appraising the jewelry, but actually pawned the jewelry off for financial gain, without the consent of the original owner/customer,” police stated.
The police department’s financial crimes unit “received 12 official police reports claiming they were also victims of Paul Williams and ‘Jewelry Liquidation,'” according to the post.