Santiago Mora, a partner in Alku Modern Jewelers in Katy, Texas, has received jail time after pleading guilty to wire fraud.
Mora was sentenced to a 27-month prison term, followed by three years of supervised release, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.
According to prosecutors, Mora failed to deliver prepaid Rolex watches valued at approximately $3.9 million to a customer. In order to pay that customer and others, Mora impersonated his business partner to receive $500,000 in merchant cash advances, they said.
Mora pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on March 3.
Mora had failed to appear for court hearings and was taken into custody by FBI agents in Miami in June 2021.
One local news station, KHOU, has alleged that some customers paid for items at Alku that were never delivered. Mora’s lawyer told the station that Mora “has every intention of fulfilling his obligations to his customers.”
Its landlord shut the business for failure to pay rent, the station said.
Mora could not be reached for comment by publication time.
Photo: Getty Images
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