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‘The Timepiece Gentleman’ Pleads Guilty to 6 Counts of Fraud Totaling $5.6 Million October 14, 2024 (0 comments)

Los Angeles, CA--The owner of a Beverly Hills luxury watch consignment business known as “The Timepiece Gentleman” pleaded guilty to swindling dozens of his customers out of at least $5.6 million, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California said in a statement Friday.

Anthony Farrer, 36, formerly of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud. He has been in federal custody since November 2023, according to the statement. Farrer fraudulently obtained money and property belonging to more than 40 victims and caused total losses of more than $5.6 million. The attorney’s office compared part of his illegal activity to a Ponzi scheme.

Farrer is scheduled for a hearing on January 31, 2025, where he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count.

According to his plea agreement, from November 2022 to November 2023, Farrer used his business to connect purchasers and sellers of high-end watches. In a typical consignment sale, a client would ship a watch to The Timepiece Gentleman and Farrer would take possession of the watch, agreeing to display it at his Beverly Hills store and through online and social media marketing. The items involved included luxury watches by Rolex, Richard Mille and Patek Phillipe, the statement reads.

Once the watch was sold, Farrer was supposed to return the sales proceeds back to the client, minus a consignment fee, which typically was approximately 5% of the sales price, the statement reads. If the watch did not sell within a specific time or for a specified price, Farrer was supposed to return the watch to the client.

However, instead of either sending watch sales proceeds or returning unsold watches to the clients, Farrer sold the client watches and kept the money for himself. He also used client watches – without the client’s knowledge or permission – as collateral for loans that he took out from lenders, the statement reads.

“When a client asked about the status of a watch on consignment sale, Farrer lied and said that the watch had not yet been sold. In fact, Farrer already had sold the watch or otherwise disposed of it, keeping the funds for his own personal benefit,” the statement reads.

In addition, Farrer also purchased watches on behalf of clients, receiving money for the purchase in advance through either a wire transfer or a payment processor to purchase a timepiece. However, “Farrer took the clients’ money and used it for other purposes, including to fund his lavish lifestyle such as buying or leasing luxury automobiles, apartments, and other luxury goods,” the statement reads.

When a client asked Farrer about the status of a watch purchase, “Farrer often sent another watch to the client to tide the client over or lull them into a false sense of security regarding the status of the purchase,” in which the attorney’s office said was “similar to a Ponzi scheme,” because the other watch Farrer sent to the client often belonged to his consignment clients. These clients were unaware Farrer was using their watches for that purpose.

The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Beverly Hills Police Department investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Joshua O. Mausner of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting this case.

Read the government's statement.