RICHMOND, Va. — Thousands of servicemembers and veterans are now owed millions after being scammed by a national jewelry retailer, according to Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, who has joined others in recovering the funds.
Miyares' office said that more than 46,000 people were ultimately deceived and defrauded by Harris Jewelry.
"The jewelry company used deceptive marketing tactics to lure active duty servicemembers to their financing program, falsely claiming that investing in this program would improve servicemembers’ credit scores," the office specified,
"Instead, servicemembers were tricked into obtaining high-interest loans on overpriced, poor-quality jewelry that saddled them with thousands of dollars of debt and worsened their credit."
According to Miyares' office, Harris Jewelry operated retail stores near and on military bases around the country, featuring a business model that was designed to primarily target and service people in the military.
Specifically, the states and FTC allege that Harris Jewelry:
- Made false or unsubstantiated claims that financing jewelry purchases through the company would result in higher credit scores
- Misrepresented that the protection plan was required to finance purchases
- Failed to provide written disclosures and meet authorization requirements for contracts as required by law
The 18-state agreement has subsequently required Harris Jewelry to refund the many servicemembers affected for warranties they were tricked into purchasing, correct bad credit scores, stop collecting millions of dollars of debt, and dissolve all of their businesses.
The agreement also requires Harris Jewelry to pay $1 million to all 18 states, which also include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Per the agreement, there is $1,084,912.58 in potential restitution for protection plans for 3,828 Virginians, and $1,703,408.89 in debt forgiveness for 1,011 Virginians.
“Harris Jewelry targeted our military community, misleading, deceiving, and defrauding thousands of active duty servicemembers through their financing program, said Attorney General Miyares. "Our servicemembers are critical to the American experiment, dedicating their lives to the protection of our freedoms and way of life. I’m grateful we were able to reach an agreement and provide relief to thousands of Virginians."
Servicemembers and veterans who entered into a predatory financing loan with Harris Jewelry between January 2014 and July 2022 will be eligible for restitution to the extent they paid for warranties, Miyares' office specified, adding that an independent monitor will be installed to oversee the relief and contact eligible servicemembers and veterans.
Eligible servicemembers and veterans will receive an email and letter in the mail notifying them of this agreement and their eligibility. Eligible servicemembers will then have to claim their restitution.
