NEWS

40 people lost 5.6 million yuan for consigning luxury watches without paying them

On October 11th, a man from the Beverly Hills area of Los Angeles admitted in court to defrauding customers through the sale of consigned luxury watches, resulting in losses exceeding $5.6 million for at least 40 victims. Facing up to 40 years in federal prison, 36-year-old Anthony Farrer operated a consignment shop called Gentlemen Timepieces prior to the incident, specializing in high-end watches.

During his court appearance, Farrer pleaded guilty to one count of email fraud and one count of mail fraud as charged by the federal prosecutor’s office. According to the prosecution’s filings, Farrer established Gentlemen Timepieces in Texas in 2017 and shifted operations to Beverly Hills in 2022, connecting buyers and sellers through consignment.

Prosecutors indicated that Farrer typically accepted high-end watches from individuals, having them sign a consignment agreement, and would then sell these items. In exchange for each sale, he would receive a 5% commission. However, from November 2022 to November 2023, Farrer sold some of his clients’ consigned luxury watches but failed to return the proceeds to them, opting instead to keep the funds for his personal use.

Court documents reveal that several victims reached out to law enforcement, complaining that they had sent money to Farrer for watch purchases or mailed watches for consignment, but never received either the watches or any sales proceeds. Investigators estimate that the number of victims could be around 40, with total losses surpassing $5.6 million.

Farrer’s lifestyle raised eyebrows; he resided in a luxury rental property in Los Angeles, drove high-end vehicles such as Lamborghinis and Ducatis, and frequently traveled to Las Vegas for gambling. Prosecutors disclosed that he encouraged victims to wire funds for luxurious watches, but once he received the money, he sent them different watches instead.

In one notable case, a victim received a Rolex watch from Farrer as a way to settle debts owed to him. However, that Rolex belonged to someone who had consigned it to Farrer, and he did not have permission to use it for debt repayment. Prosecutors characterized Farrer’s operations as akin to a Ponzi scheme, where he built trust through smaller transactions before perpetuating a larger fraud.

Farrer closed his Beverly Hills shop in 2023 and began sharing posts on social media about his travels across the United States. Remarkably, up until a month before his arrest in October 2023, he continued advertising watches for sale on social platforms to carry on his deceptive practices.