Laura Bee, manager of Ever Love Jewelers, pleads guilty to stealing $137G in jewelry from customers
Laura Bee, manager of Ever Love Jewelers in Huntington, pleaded guilty to stealing $137,000 worth of jewels from her customers. Credit: Paul Mazza
A Huntington village jeweler pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree grand larceny, admitting she stole more than $137,000 worth of jewels from her customers.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Laura Bee, 59, in her role as manager of Ever Love Jewelry in Huntington, swapped engineered and lesser-quality stones for natural and high-quality diamonds and also issued “bad checks” — knowing the funds did not exist.
In her plea allocution on Tuesday, the district attorney's office said Bee acknowledged that between Sept. 27, 2019, and June 26, 2022, she took possession of items valued at $31,000, agreeing to sell them for friends, but then kept the items. And between Oct. 7, 2020, and Aug. 19, 2022, Bee sold diamond engagement rings to customers who believed they'd bought higher-priced “natural” diamonds — only to later learn the stones were lab grown or of lesser quality when they were appraised.
During that time, the district attorney's office said, Bee stole about $47,000.
In one case, Tierney said, Bee agreed to repair a friend's broken diamond engagement ring that was valued at $15,000. When Bee returned the ring, the stone had been replaced.
The ring, now fitted with a lab-grown stone, was appraised at $2,000, the district attorney said.
“Over almost three years, this defendant used her position as the manager of a jewelry store to scam her friends and unsuspecting customers,” Tierney said in a statement. “This defendant took advantage of her position for personal gain, and my office will continue to prosecute professionals who steal from their customers.”
In addition to the thefts, the district attorney's office said from June 22 to Dec. 7, 2022, Bee stole almost $50,000 from jewelers who sold her jewelry, issuing six bad checks from the Ever Love account, knowing the account had insufficient funds.
Her attorney, Matt Tuohy, said: "I am happy that we were able to work with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office to arrive at a beneficial plea bargain for Laura , who has accepted responsibility for her mistakes and has agreed to pay back all monies that she owes. In addition, this plea agreement ensures that any victims from her place of business will be fully made whole."
Bee is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25.
A Huntington village jeweler pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree grand larceny, admitting she stole more than $137,000 worth of jewels from her customers.
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Laura Bee, 59, in her role as manager of Ever Love Jewelry in Huntington, swapped engineered and lesser-quality stones for natural and high-quality diamonds and also issued “bad checks” — knowing the funds did not exist.
In her plea allocution on Tuesday, the district attorney's office said Bee acknowledged that between Sept. 27, 2019, and June 26, 2022, she took possession of items valued at $31,000, agreeing to sell them for friends, but then kept the items. And between Oct. 7, 2020, and Aug. 19, 2022, Bee sold diamond engagement rings to customers who believed they'd bought higher-priced “natural” diamonds — only to later learn the stones were lab grown or of lesser quality when they were appraised.
During that time, the district attorney's office said, Bee stole about $47,000.
In one case, Tierney said, Bee agreed to repair a friend's broken diamond engagement ring that was valued at $15,000. When Bee returned the ring, the stone had been replaced.
The ring, now fitted with a lab-grown stone, was appraised at $2,000, the district attorney said.
“Over almost three years, this defendant used her position as the manager of a jewelry store to scam her friends and unsuspecting customers,” Tierney said in a statement. “This defendant took advantage of her position for personal gain, and my office will continue to prosecute professionals who steal from their customers.”
In addition to the thefts, the district attorney's office said from June 22 to Dec. 7, 2022, Bee stole almost $50,000 from jewelers who sold her jewelry, issuing six bad checks from the Ever Love account, knowing the account had insufficient funds.
Her attorney, Matt Tuohy, said: "I am happy that we were able to work with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office to arrive at a beneficial plea bargain for Laura , who has accepted responsibility for her mistakes and has agreed to pay back all monies that she owes. In addition, this plea agreement ensures that any victims from her place of business will be fully made whole."
Bee is scheduled to be sentenced on March 25.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
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