South Carolina Jeweler Defrauds 100 Customers of More Than $200,000

Items taken to him for repair suddenly disappeared.

Ronald Stewart, owner of the Golden Hedge jewelry store in Greenville, SC, pleaded guilty to multiple felonies after he defrauded more than 100 people of more than $200,000, Greenville Online reports.

According to the report, customers complained to authorities that Stewart – whose business sold and repaired jewelry, and also took in items on consignment – did not give them the proceeds for jewelry that was sold on consignment and that “items taken to him for repair no longer existed.” The article quotes his lawyer, who said that Stewart broke a couple of expensive pieces during the repair process, and then pawned the jewelry on consignment in order to pay for the broken pieces. For his part, Stewart said he “did not intend to lose anybody’s items. I thought I had a plan to get the stuff back and it fell apart on me. I am truly sorry.” The judge sentenced him to six years in prison suspended on the service of three years, with three years of probation.

Read more at Greenville Online