El Paseo Jewelry Exchange Associated Persons Complaint filed in US District Court for false advertising of gold purchase prices Palm Desert, California

The following complaint against El Paseo Jewelry Exchange, Inc., RAJU MEHTA and IVAN KALENSKY has been filed in the United States District Court, #EDCV10-1858VP

Here are some excerpts from the 33 page legal filing.

11. Beginning on a date unknown to plaintiff but which is no later than January 2010, and continuing to the present, El Paseo Jewelry has engaged in an aggressive advertising campaign in newspapers, on cable television and over the Internet,

falsely advertising that it purchases gold jewelry from customers for a price calculated at 92% of the current market price for gold.

These false statements, which constitute actionable false advertising and unfair competition, are repeated orally in statements made by the Individual Defendants when customers come to El Paseo Jewelrys retail store to sell their jewelry.

 12. Defendants advertising claims are false. El Paseo Jewelry actually pays much less for the
secondhand jewelry it buys from the public, paying sums as low as 65% of the value of the gold (based on the then prevailing price).

El Paseo Jewelry pays less than its advertised percentage by understating the weight of the jewelry, mischaracterizing the karat composition of the gold, and using, in its calculations, a price for gold that is lower than the applicable days gold price.

14. Moreover, El Paseo Jewelry has, until recently, operated unlawfully and under the radar by conducting its business without first having obtained the Secondhand Dealers license required
under California law,

and without complying with the requirements imposed on Secondhand Dealers by the California Business & Professions Code, all to the detriment of plaintiff and consumers.