Jefferson City, Mo. – Attorney General Chris Koster today filed suit against a St. Louis area gold-buying business for purchasing stolen jewelry and selling it to smelters without waiting the five-day period required by law.
Koster’s lawsuit, filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court, names Missouri Gold Buyers, LLC, and Mike Duke. The two-count lawsuit alleges that Duke and the business have purchased stolen jewelry in their St. Louis City and County stores and resold the jewelry to smelters for profit before the required waiting days, and without informing law enforcement officials or smelters that the jewelry had likely been illegally obtained.
“Had Missouri Gold Buyers retained consumers’ stolen items for the five days, law enforcement officials may have been able to return the stolen items to the consumers,” Koster said. “Instead, at least five consumers permanently lost jewelry worth over $50,000, with irreplaceable personal value.”
Koster is seeking an order stopping Missouri Gold Buyers from selling gold, silver or platinum in the state of Missouri without first giving law enforcement an opportunity to recover stolen property for innocent victims of crime. He also seeks restitution for consumers, civil penalties and prosecution costs.
Koster is asking anyone who believes their stolen jewelry or other personal belongings could have been sold to Missouri Gold Buyers without their permission to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Consumer Hotline at 1-800-392-8222 or online.
