Police: Woman arrested for stealing more than $125,000 from jewelry store clients
Police tell News 12 Laura Bee worked for Ever Love Jewelers in Huntington.
Jul 26, 2023, 6:00 AM
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A jewelry store employee has been arrested and is accused of stealing jewelry from her clients.
Police tell News 12 Laura Bee worked for Ever Love Jewelers in Huntington and had stolen more than $125,000 from seven different clients.
Police say the incident happened between Sept. 2019 and Dec. 2022.
According to detectives, Bee knowingly issued checks with insufficient funds to cover transactions and kept the jewelry.
In some cases, she allegedly swapped out real diamonds for fake ones.
Several of Bee's accusers came to court to watch as she faced seven counts of grand larceny and six counts of issuing a bad check.
"She took my engagement ring," said one accuser. "She was resetting it. She took the stone out, gave me a lab diamond back."
Bee's father, Fred Barnett, defended his daughter and said she was overwhelmed by the management of finances at the store but did not commit any crime.
"It was not a deliberate attempt to rip anybody off," Barnett says. "It was financial mismanagement and an attempt to clear it up that led to the chaos."
Bee's attorney, Matthew Tuohy, said she plans to pay back the victims.
"We're hoping we can resolve some of these and certain people can be made whole," Tuohy said.
Bee's accusers, however, said some of the jewels she is accused of stealing are priceless family heirlooms that can never be replaced.
Bee, of Glen Cove, pleaded not guilty to the charges she is facing and is on supervised release until her next court date on Aug. 9.
Anyone who thinks they could be a victim is asked to call Suffolk County police.
