Employee Laura Bee of Lake Grove accused in theft of $125G of jewelry at Huntington shop, police say

A worker at a Huntington jeweler stole $125,000 in jewelry from seven clients, including swapping real diamonds for fakes, Suffolk police said Wednesday in announcing her arrest.

Laura Bee, 59, of Lake Grove, an employee of Ever Love Jewelers on New York Avenue in Huntington village, committed the thefts over a three-year period, from September 2019 to last December, Suffolk police said in a news release.

"In some instances, Bee knowingly issued checks with insufficient funds to cover the transaction and then kept the jewelry. In others, she swapped real diamonds for fakes, or used inferior quality diamonds but charged full price," according to the release, which did not say how she was caught or the extent of evidence against her.

Bee was arrested at her home and charged with seven counts of grand larceny in the third degree, a felony, and six counts of issuing a bad check, a misdemeanor, the release said.

She was arraigned Wednesday in First District Court in Central Islip and released without bail, according to online court records. Her next court appearance is Aug. 9. 

Her attorney, Matthew Brendan Tuohy of Huntington, didn’t respond to a message seeking comment. The victims weren’t publicly named.

The phone number listed for the store wasn’t working Wednesday afternoon.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.