A jewellery boss who allegedly scammed investors out of £170m ($350m) reportedly had his staff pose as customers to make his shops look busy to keep up the ruse.
In what could be the UK’s biggest diamond scam, Vashi Dominguez is also alleged to have had shop workers sit at work benches and pretend to be goldsmithing when business was faltering.
Vashi had stores across the UK, including Birmingham, Manchester and a flagship one in Covent Garden, London.Credit:
Investors claim that when the facade was exposed, they still hoped they could be bailed out by the £157m worth of diamonds they were told were held in stock.
However, the remaining gemstones were valued at just £100,000, a BBC Panorama investigation claims.
So far Mr Dominguez – described as the “Pied Piper” of the industry – is not being investigated by police.
The diamond dealer’s business collapsed in 2023, with £170 million of debts.
He had stores across the UK, including Birmingham, Manchester and a flagship one in Covent Garden, London, which opened in 2021.
“After the shininess had worn off, we were getting, like, two, three, four people in it a day, and that was the reality in one of the busiest squares in London,” said Charlotte Paul, a former data analyst for Vashi.
As a result, he allegedly asked staff to pretend to be customers to try to trick investors, while others were told to work at benches and pose as goldsmiths.
