The Hawai‘i Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Office of Consumer Protection is calling on service members and veterans who were misled by Harris Jewelry to file claims for refunds. This comes after a federal court mandated Harris Jewelry to reopen its claims process following a July 2022 settlement. Claims must be filed by December 21, 2024.
Harris Jewelry was previously ordered to cancel $21.3 million in debt for over 13,000 individuals and provide $12.8 million in refunds to more than 40,000 customers who were deceived into purchasing lifetime protection plans on low-quality jewelry without proper disclosure. The federal court found that the company violated the terms of the settlement by closing the claims portal prematurely.
"Service members and veterans should be honored and respected, not misled and defrauded," said Mana Moriarty, Executive Director of the Office of Consumer Protection. "I urge all who are impacted by the settlement over Harris’ deceptive practice to file a claim now to get their money back before the refund portal closes on December 21, 2024. Our office is committed to protecting veterans and holding accountable predatory businesses."
The legal action against Harris Jewelry was initiated by Attorneys General from 18 states along with the Federal Trade Commission in July 2022. The complaint accused Harris Jewelry of falsely claiming that financing through them would improve servicemembers' credit scores, misrepresenting protection plans as mandatory or non-optional, and adding these plans without consumer consent. The company was also alleged to have breached several financial consumer protection laws, including the Military Lending Act.