Newport Beach jeweler who cheated clients out of Rolexes and diamonds gets five years in prison

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Set us as preferred As Loretta Savery’s longtime private jeweler, Nelson Holdo remembered the little details: birthdays and anniversaries, where her sons went to college, their majors and if they had girlfriends.“He ingratiated himself knowing that one day, he could use that information to defraud clients of thousands of dollars, eventually totaling in the millions,” Savery said Monday in a Santa Ana courtroom.Standing in a holding pen for inmates, wearing orange jail attire, Holdo looked back at Savery almost admiringly, at times bowing his head.

Last week, Holdo pleaded guilty to three felony counts of stealing from his clients and on Monday was sentenced to five years in state prison.Prosecutors say Holdo, 66, stole more than $1.7 million from his clients, taking their money but never delivering the Rolexes, diamonds and other jewelry they paid for.

In some cases, he took their valuables to resell but never gave them the money.As part of the plea deal, about three dozen counts were dismissed.

Deputy Atty.Gen.

Sterling Winchester, with the California Department of Justice, declined to comment on the agreement.Holdo did not make a statement at his sentencing, and his public defender, June Woo Chung, declined to comment.

In an interview at an Orange County jail in June, Holdo told The Times that he was “100% innocent” and confident he would be cleared after presenting the facts to a jury.California Clients trusted him with their special moments: engagements, weddings and anniversaries, or when they simply wished to treat themselves.

But for some, when it came time to settle up, Nelson Holdo was full of excuses.Holdo has racked up a long history of complaints since the 2000s, when he operated a jewelry store in San Marino.The store, Asanti, filed for bankruptcy in 2010, and his wife started a new business, Mimi...