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?
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.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?
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.
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.
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...
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
Whaaaaaaaaaaat? I'm usually hanging out in the coloured gemstones section and I heard good things about the company. What is this about?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
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: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