Consumer Alert: Attorney General James Reminds Veterans and Servicemembers to File Claims to Receive Refunds from Harris Jewelry Settlement

 

 New York Attorney General Letitia James today issued an alert reminding servicemembers and veterans to file claims to receive refunds from the Harris Jewelry settlement before the April 15^th deadline. In July 2022, Attorney General James and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recovered $34.2 million for servicemembers and veterans who were scammed by the jewelry retailer. The agreement required Harris Jewelry to provide more than $12 million in refunds for more than 46,000 servicemembers who paid for lifetime protection plans. Eligible servicemembers and veterans should file a claim online for a refund before April 15.

“I encourage active-duty servicemembers and veterans who were misled by Harris Jewelry to apply for a refund from our settlement,” said Attorney General James. “This is an opportunity for servicemembers and veterans to get the justice they deserve after being defrauded. Our military members put our protection above their own and my office will continue to protect them from predatory businesses.”

Harris Jewelry used deceptive marketing tactics to lure active-duty servicemembers to their financing program, falsely claiming that investing in this program would improve servicemembers’ credit scores. Instead, servicemembers were tricked into obtaining high-interest loans on overpriced, poor-quality jewelry that saddled them with thousands of dollars of debt and worsened their credit. Attorney General James and FTC co-led an 18-state agreement that requires Harris Jewelry to refund tens of thousands of servicemembers for warranties they were tricked into purchasing, stop collecting millions of dollars of debt, correct bad credit scores, and dissolve all its businesses.

Through the agreement, Harris Jewelry has stopped collecting $21,307,229 in outstanding debt held by 13,426 servicemembers. The agreement required the jewelry retailer to provide $12,872,493 in refunds to 46,204 servicemembers who paid for lifetime protection plans. Eligible individuals can file a claim online on Harris Jewelry’s website to obtain a refund.