A jeweller who stole an earring from his friend of over 50 years and tried to sell it back to her for £100,000 – claiming he had found a replacement – has been jailed for 18 months.
The Royal Court heard that 67-year-old Anthony John Webster had tried to defraud the elderly woman out of £100,000.
“A cruel and calculated fraud”
Commissioner Alan Binnington said Webster was guilty of “a cruel and calculated fraud”, and there were no grounds for sparing him from a prison sentence.
The Court heard that Webster and the victim had been friends since the 1970s.
They had travelled together all over the world, and went on family holidays together.
Crown Advocate Luke Sette, prosecuting, said that the woman trusted Webster “implicitly” and “considered him like a brother”.
The earrings
In the early 1990s, antiques dealer Webster sold his friend a “good quality” pair of diamond earrings for £50,000.
They were usually kept in the safe at the woman’s home but, one day, she put them down on a tray outside her bedroom – and later realised one of the earrings was missing.
An “extensive search” was carried out, but the earring could not be found.
It later emerged that this was because Webster had taken it.
However, the woman did not know this at the time, and asked her jeweller friend if he could find her another one that matched.
Almost a year later, while staying with the woman in Jersey, Webster claimed to have found a replacement earring.
He offered to sell it to the woman for £100,000, and also provided a certificate of authenticity.
The “deliberate deceit”
Advocate Sette said Webster “deliberately deceived” the woman – as this ‘replacement’ earring was in fact the original earring that was believed to have gone missing.
The woman asked her son to transfer £100,000 to Webster, who said he needed it “quickly” as Christmas was approaching. Her son duly transferred the money.
The woman later found a small plastic packet on the floor of her bedroom which contained shattered glass and a round frame, which was exactly the same as the original and replacement earrings.
She assumed this to be the original earring that she had lost – in fact, this was a separate earring, which was later proved to not be a diamond.
Advocate Sette explained that this broken earring “surprised” the woman, as she understood that diamonds could not break.
Webster later admitted to placing this fake broken earring in the woman’s bedroom to make her believe that the original earring had been found.
That same day, Webster attempted to sell his friend more jewellery.
The woman wrote a cheque to him for £39,715 – but this cheque was never processed.
The broken earring also caused the woman’s son to become suspicious.
After speaking to Webster, he privately told his mother that he suspected the jeweller of stealing the original earring and selling it back to her.
But the woman would not believe it due to how much of a “good and trusted friend” Webster was to her.
The admission
A local diamond expert confirmed that the supposed replacement earring was in fact the original piece.
It also emerged that neither of the two earrings matched the certificate of authenticity Webster had provided during the resale.
The diamond dealer valued the earrings as between £30,000 and £35,000 per earring – meaning that Webster had sold one of the diamonds to the victim for approximately three times their value.
The broken earring was also examined and confirmed to not be diamond.
The woman’s son confronted Webster who initially denied any wrongdoing before later confirming his actions.
The son recorded the conversation, during which Webster said: “I don’t know what to say… I can’t have police because I’ll be thrown out of Monaco.”
During the recording, Webster also confirmed that he “set it all up” and explained that he had stolen the original earring and then sold it back to the woman.
Webster claimed it was “just finance, financial”, before saying he was “very sorry and very ashamed”.
He was later arrested and pleaded guilty during his first appearance in court.
“He robbed me of more than an earring”
During Webster’s sentencing yesterday, Advocate Sette said the crime had badly affected the woman.
“The victim was particularly vulnerable, by virtue of her age,” he said.
“She is now unable to trust anyone other than her close family. She is reclusive and does not wish to socialise.
“She said: ‘It has rocked my whole life. He robbed me of more than an earring.’”
Advocate Sette added: “The action showed planning. There was some sophistication to it.”
He recommended an 18-month jail sentence.
Advocate Paul Nicholls, defending, said Webster was “a man of otherwise impeccably good character” who was “absolutely mortified” by his actions.
He said: “He knows the offending has had a profound impact on his friend. He is profoundly sorry.”
He added that Webster had “not insignificant health issues” and said: “Those issues are not going to be helped if this man is in custody.”
He pointed out that Webster had been deemed at very low risk of reconviction, rather than at low risk, and said: “There is absolutely no prospect that this man will offend again.”
“Motivated purely by greed”
Mr Binnington said the Jurats were taking into consideration Webster’s guilty plea and previous good character, but told him: “This was a cruel and calculated fraud.”
Webster owns homes in England and Monaco, so Mr Binnington stated that there was no indication Webster needed the money.
“It was motivated purely by greed,” he said.
“You were well aware of the woman’s vulnerabilities and you exploited them.”
As well as the prison sentence Webster was ordered to pay £1,500 in costs.
Jurats Ronge and Le Heuzé were sitting.
After the sentencing Civilian Investigator Faith Shalamon, the officer in the case, said: “This case is a stark reminder of how deeply personal and damaging fraud can be, especially when it involves someone the victim trusted implicitly.
“The emotional toll on the victim has been significant.
“We hope this sentence brings some measure of justice and closure to the victim.”