Seeking Advice: Natural Fancy Vivid Pink verification/transport

[LinSF]

He's getting some wonderful help here, I hope the OP is not long gone?!

 

[Grateful4UrWisdom]

Oh that's great, Gem Queen! My holiday vacation has been extended another day, but I'll touch bases here when I get back home.

@Grateful4UrWisdom , I understand that you wouldn't want to identify where exactly you live, but would you confirm that you live in LA County?

Hi Molly,

I am so grateful for all of this generous advice by everyone here. It's awesome. An amazing tribe looking out for each other.

And thank you for your research and insights as a former Assistant DA. Yes, I live in LA County. My reluctance to pursue this case legally or involving authorities isn't due to any sense of embarrassment, but bc I know of his three children, one is still a teen. But as everyone here as reflected, these are actions he himself must take responsibility for.

blessings and blessed New Year.

 

[LinSF]

Let my share a little story here... my children go to a parochial school. One of their classmates parents was indicted and is serving time for Fraud and tax evasion. Their children are well adjusted, and an immense lesson is being learned by all. You can't get away with fraudulent activities, it doesn't matter who you are or how much money you have. Due process and the justice system only works when we rely on it! Good luck!

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Have only read a couple of these posts.
The lab in Vancouver is run by a friend Branko Dejalin (sp?) who is a scientist and can almost always identfiy the source / location of pink diamonds - especially from Argyle.
He is bona fide.
I have the first such cert he ever wrote on a FIpP 1ct pear shape I sold to a great client without an Argyle cert.
Question - is there an inscription on your stone from Argyle?

 

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Branko runs this conference along with John Chapman. They work closely.
John has been the main scientist associated with Argyle for 30 years and is smart and well published.
https://www.gemconference.com/

 

[Bron357]

I can understand your reticence as a kind, generous person not wanting young innocent people to suffer but the facts are that IF he is a scammer and has stolen either your money or your diamond, he deserves to receive the full force of the law and social condemnation.
It is just bizarre that he wants you to pay for yet another report with his chosen lab. The diamond certainly doesn’t need ANOTHER report as it already has the best 2 and the 2 that count.
If it’s because he’s worried you might try and scam him... “what pink diamond, I got no pink diamond all I got a piece of glass”.... he’s got a hide!
Seriously, if I were you I’d just say “look, forget all this nonsense about needing another lab report which you want me to pay for because it already has a GIA report and an Argyle Mine report and they are the only 2 reports that matter. I can come down to your office and personally collect the diamond. The diamond is inscribed, on the girdle, they specifically do that for identification purposes. This number is easy to see and confirm with a magnififying Loupe so we can both be sure I am collecting the correct diamond that I paid for.
And take someone with you, perhaps you could even contact a jeweller or gemologist in the area who would accompany you and assist you to identify and confirm your diamond.

 

[MollyMalone]

Have only read a couple of these posts.
The lab in Vancouver is run by a friend Branko Dejalin (sp?) who is a scientist and can almost always identfiy the source / location of pink diamonds - especially from Argyle.
He is bona fide.
I have the first such cert he ever wrote on a FIpP 1ct pear shape I sold to a great client without an Argyle cert.
Question - is there an inscription on your stone from Argyle?

I'm not certain if @Grateful4UrWisdom has actually ever seen the diamond in person. But the purchase-related paperwork given Grateful 10+ years ago includes a GIA report that takes note of what appears to be an Argyle inscription -- and that number corresponds to the Argyle document Grateful has. See post #29. Plus, we've confirmed that number is in Argyle's online Diamond Search database; the stats on the PDF that's generated after you type in the inscription number match those on the GIA report & on the Argyle document.

That's why I, for one, can think of no good reason as to why Colin Ferguson is insisting that he won't send the diamond to Grateful unless
-- among other things -- Grateful pays for another lab report for "verification" purposes.

 

[prs]

Let's assume for the moment that Colin Ferguson still has his investors' diamonds but wants to exit the business. He asked his lawyer for advice on the best way to wind down his business, and protect himself from any future liability. I can easily see the lawyer telling him to do two things.

1. Make sure you ship the diamonds to their rightful owners. A lot can happen in ten years; divorce, inheritance, sale of interest etc. So to protect yourself get a sworn statement from each investor stating they still own the diamond. If an investor refuses to sign such a statement then assume they no longer own the diamond.

2. You have to protect yourself from a claim by an investor that you shipped him a piece of pink glass. Best way to do this is to send the diamond to a reputable lab and get it certified as the investor's true diamond. Then have the lab ship the diamond directly to the investor. I can see why, for legal jurisdiction reasons, they want to use a Canadian lab.

To me these requests are quite reasonable, and I think there's a fair chance the OP will get his diamond. If this was a scam Mr Ferguson would be long gone, and all attempts at communication would go unanswered. My advice to @Grateful4UrWisdom is to get that sworn statement off to Canada ASAP. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Then if you don't get your diamond within a month or so, it would be time to call the RCMP.

 

[lovedogs]

Let's assume for the moment that Colin Ferguson still has his investors' diamonds but wants to exit the business. He asked his lawyer for advice on the best way to wind down his business, and protect himself from any future liability. I can easily see the lawyer telling him to do two things.

1. Make sure you ship the diamonds to their rightful owners. A lot can happen in ten years; divorce, inheritance, sale of interest etc. So to protect yourself get a sworn statement from each investor stating they still own the diamond. If an investor refuses to sign such a statement then assume they no longer own the diamond.

2. You have to protect yourself from a claim by an investor that you shipped him a piece of pink glass. Best way to do this is to send the diamond to a reputable lab and get it certified as the investor's true diamond. Then have the lab ship the diamond directly to the investor. I can see why, for legal jurisdiction reasons, they want to use a Canadian lab.

To me these requests are quite reasonable, and I think there's a fair chance the OP will get his diamond. If this was a scam Mr Ferguson would be long gone, and all attempts at communication would go unanswered. My advice to @Grateful4UrWisdom is to get that sworn statement off to Canada ASAP. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Then if you don't get your diamond within a month or so, it would be time to call the RCMP.

My concern is that he does have stuff to lose. I think this is all nonsense to help mr furguson wriggle out of sending anyone their diamonds. He's obviously involved in a number of scamming buisinesses that are designed to screw people over. I wouldn't send him a g-d damn thing, except legal action and the authorities.

 

[srke]

Let's assume for the moment that Colin Ferguson still has his investors' diamonds but wants to exit the business. He asked his lawyer for advice on the best way to wind down his business, and protect himself from any future liability. I can easily see the lawyer telling him to do two things.

1. Make sure you ship the diamonds to their rightful owners. A lot can happen in ten years; divorce, inheritance, sale of interest etc. So to protect yourself get a sworn statement from each investor stating they still own the diamond. If an investor refuses to sign such a statement then assume they no longer own the diamond.

2. You have to protect yourself from a claim by an investor that you shipped him a piece of pink glass. Best way to do this is to send the diamond to a reputable lab and get it certified as the investor's true diamond. Then have the lab ship the diamond directly to the investor. I can see why, for legal jurisdiction reasons, they want to use a Canadian lab.

To me these requests are quite reasonable, and I think there's a fair chance the OP will get his diamond. If this was a scam Mr Ferguson would be long gone, and all attempts at communication would go unanswered. My advice to @Grateful4UrWisdom is to get that sworn statement off to Canada ASAP. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Then if you don't get your diamond within a month or so, it would be time to call the RCMP.

I agree that there are legitimate reasons why he may want you to take these steps to protect himself. There is also a chance these are part of a scam.
I think it comes down to whether the lab he wants to use is a trustworthy third party, and also whether he would be able to use a stat dec that you sign against you, if he had in fact sold the stone to multiple parties.
It is understandable if he wants to protect himself, you also need to protect yourself. At least get some legal advice if you don't want to take any more aggressive action. If he is trying to wind down his business, the longer you delay the bigger the risk the company vanishes/goes bankrupt etc, and your diamond vanishes with it.

 

[Matilda]

Yeah I would just fly there now considering the amount of money involved. At least see the stone before signing anything.

I am so glad that you came back and are willing to stand up for yourself, and others who may also be impacted. On that note, he has a family, but so do you and probably many of his clients do too. Why should other kids suffer because of him? Also I believe its excellent role modelling to stand up for what is right and not allow others to take advantage of you. This is an important life lesson for children to learn. Also it demonstrates problem solving skills, and what is ethical behaviour (i.e. NOT scamming people).

 

[GliderPoss]

Finally, there was a scam here in Australia where you bought barells of fine whisky for a few grand each, and they wrote your name on it. Five years later when it had matured, it was sold & the profit split. Sound familiar?! The distiller sold half the barrells early, scrubbed names off & didn’t fill half the barrels.

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-09/hundreds-of-nant-whisky-barrels-never-filled-audit/8338106

Good luck - I agree with the others - show up & demand your stone - then failing that have a stiff whiskey - not Nant.

OMG I literally talked my husband out of investing in this exact scam! So glad...

 

[bmfang]

OMG I literally talked my husband out of investing in this exact scam! So glad...

That scam sullied the brand immensely. Nant is a very very fine Australian whiskey. Well it was. Now the mantle has passed to a different distillery.

 

[OoohShiny]

This recent news story seems rather pertinent...

https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/22/lavish-lives-crooks-tricked-people-investing-diamonds-8374049/

The victims were cold called by people working for Bridgewater Associates Ltd and RSD Assets Ltd, who claimed to make profits in the sale of coloured diamonds and online binary products.

They were sent professional-looking brochures, purchase agreements and registration forms, sometimes even before they had agreed to buy.

When they invested into the diamond scheme, they were sent reports that gave details to show the authenticity of the specific diamond purchased.

The fraudsters gave the scam a further air of authenticity by using the logo of an established company in the US

 

[IcePhoenix]

Wow, this is pretty sick! Reminds me of the Natural Sapphire Company's CEO, Michael Arndt, though that was a totally different situation and type of fraud

Whaaaaaaaaaaat? I'm usually hanging out in the coloured gemstones section and I heard good things about the company. What is this about?
Also this Colin Ferguson seems to have active sites and all where he parades himself as a professional and even charitable individual
Ps. I really hope op can get either his stone or his money back

 

[OoohShiny]

They've not come back since January so that could be good news (that they didn't worry about coming back to tell us all ended up okay in the end) or it could be bad news (and they didn't want to come back and worry about looking like they were admitting an error).

An update would be useful, though, I agree

 

[MollyMalone]

Whaaaaaaaaaaat? I'm usually hanging out in the coloured gemstones section and I heard good things about the [Natural Sapphire Company]. What is this about?
Also this Colin Ferguson seems to have active sites and all where he parades himself as a professional and even charitable individual
Ps. I really hope op can get either his stone or his money back

Michael Arnstein, the CEO of the Natural Sapphire Company, is currently serving time in the same federal prison (Otisville) as former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. More info here re why Arnstein is where he is:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...-michael-arnstein-sentenced-to-prison.244359/
(Think most of the PSers on the CS forum have little to no enthusiasm for NSC, and that was true before Arendt's criminal conduct came to light.)

I'd love to think that this OP's story has had a happy ending!