Florida
Attorney General probes Cash4Gold By Michelle Graff - February
18, 2010
Fort
Lauderdale, Fla.--The Florida Attorney General's Office has
launched a civil investigation into mail-in gold company Cash4Gold,
after receiving 72 consumer complaints about the operation,
the office confirmed to National Jeweler.
Cash4Gold, whose parent company is Green Bullion Financial
Services LLC, is a Pompano Beach, Fla.-based company that
asks consumers to mail in their old, unwanted gold jewelry
in exchange for cash.
It's perhaps best known for its widespread
TV advertising campaign featuring rapper MC Hammer and the
late entertainer Ed McMahon, including a spot that aired during
last year's Super Bowl.
According to the attorney general's office,
the civil investigation into Cash4Gold began in November 2009
after a number of consumers filed complaints claiming they
were not paid nearly enough for their gold.
Consumers also state that they contacted Cash4Gold
within the allotted 10- to 12-day return period to say they
were not satisfied with the amount offered for their gold,
only to be told their gold was already melted.
Others allege that when they returned their
checks because they were unsatisfied with the amount offered,
they never get their jewelry back, according to the attorney
general's office.
In addition, numerous complaints charge that
Cash4Gold claims it never received their envelope of gold
jewelry or that the envelope was empty when it arrived.
Also under investigation by the attorney general's
office are Cash4Gold refinery Albar Precious Metals Refining
Inc., and executives Jeff Aronson, Howard Mofshin, Jerome
Kornbluth and Jerry Kaye.
Cash4Gold is cooperating with the investigation,
according to the attorney general's office. The office's Economic
Crimes Division in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is handling the
case.
In a statement sent to National Jeweler on
Thursday, Cash4Gold said it is confident the matter will be
resolved quickly, amicably and to the full satisfaction of
the office and the company.
"Cash4Gold is extremely proud to have
worked closely with Florida officials to create and implement
the first law of its kind regulating the mail-in gold buying
industry, and we welcome the opportunity to work with lawmakers
in Washington on a similar bill that is national in scope,"
the statement reads. "We are, and will continue to be,
a leader in this country on the cooperation between law enforcement
and the mail-in gold buying industry we pioneered."