Federal Court Orders Harris Jewelry to Restore Website and Claims Portal for Limited Time
Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today urged service members and veterans eligible to receive refunds under a 2022 settlement with Harris Jewelry to file claims on the company’s website on or before Dec. 21. who were deceived into predatory financing loans in order to receive refunds. As a result of a settlement Attorney General Raoul, 17 attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached in 2022 with the national jewelry retailer, service members and veterans who were deceived into paying for lifetime protection plans on low-quality jewelry without disclosures between January 2014 and July 2022 may be eligible for restitution.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District ordered Harris Jewelry to reopen its portal to allow defrauded consumers to file claims for refunds as a result of the July 2022 settlement. The settlement required Harris Jewelry to cancel $21.3 million in debt for more than 13,000 people and provide $12.8 million in refunds for more than 40,000 deceived consumers. Over 30,000 consumers remain eligible for refunds from a fund exceeding $8 million.
“Service members and veterans do not deserve to be defrauded by any business,” Raoul said. “I urge any affected service members and veterans to file a claim as soon as possible before the refund portal closes Dec. 21. I remain committed to protecting our veterans by holding accountable businesses who take advantage of those willing to serve and sacrifice for this country.”
Raoul explained Harris Jewelry deceived active-duty service members and veterans by claiming the company could improve personal credit lines if they enrolled in the company’s financing program and invested in its jewelry products. However, service members were burdened with high interest rates, thousands of dollars of debt and poor-quality jewelry, which ultimately damaged personal credit scores. Harris Jewelry was also responsible for inflating prices and adding hidden fees without disclosures while promising to make charitable donations to Operation Troop Aid Inc.
The 2022 settlement required Harris Jewelry to stop collecting outstanding debts, provide refunds to thousands of service members, correct bad credit scores, and dissolve all of the company’s businesses. As part of the agreement, Harris Jewelry stopped collecting $21,307,229 in outstanding debt held by 13,426 service members. Harris Jewelry also vacated judgments against 112 consumers totaling $115,335.64 and deleted any negative credit entries reported to consumer reporting agencies.
Attorney General Raoul encourages any eligible service member or veteran experiencing an issue filing a claim to call his office’s Military and Veterans’ Rights Helpline at 800-382-3000 for assistance.
The Military and Veterans Rights Bureau also offers in-person or virtual presentations on service member employment rights, military veterans assistance, as well as fraud and scams that target veterans and their benefits. Information about future training opportunities can be obtained by emailing mvrb@ilag.gov.
