$1.7M IN ROLEXES THAT NEVER EXISTED: JEWELER GETS 5 YEARS

🚨 $1.7 million in Rolex money. Zero Rolexes.

Former Pasadena jeweler Nelson Holdo was sentenced Monday to five years in prison after admitting he stole nearly $1.7 million through fraudulent Rolex sales, pasadenanow.com reports.

He pleaded guilty last week in Orange County Superior Court to three counts of felony grand theft and writing fraudulent checks, along with a white-collar crime enhancement. Roughly 36 other counts were dismissed as part of the plea deal, authorities said.

The mechanics, according to prosecutors: Holdo targeted buyers hunting Rolexes valued between $50,000 and $100,000. He told them he could source the watches through overseas brokers, and asked for the full purchase amount wired upfront. Delivery was promised in four to six weeks.

The watches never existed. Weeks turned into months and buyers got excuses. When they demanded refunds, prosecutors say Holdo agreed and then pocketed the cash. Thirty-two victims across Los Angeles and Orange counties were hit, with the California Department of Justice saying the thefts began in 2021.

The name carried weight locally. Holdo founded Asanti Fine Jewellers on Mission Street in San Marino in 1991, ran a second boutique inside the Ritz-Carlton Huntington in Pasadena, and served as president of Black, Starr & Frost from 2011 to 2014. Asanti closed after the 2008 downturn and filed for Chapter 7, per a Pasadena Star-News report cited by The Centurion.

Would you ever wire six figures for a watch you had never seen?

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