Famed Beverly Hills watch dealer faces prison time after pleading guilty to fraud
The man behind a notorious consignment watch business in Beverly Hills has pleaded guilty and could face up to 20 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement Friday.
Anthony Farrer, owner of the Timepiece Gentleman, conned dozens of customers out of over $5.6 million, according to the guilty plea. He pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud for using clients’ funds to finance his lavish lifestyle and running a Ponzi-like scheme, taking timepieces that clients had asked him to sell on consignment and giving them to other customers who’d paid him to buy watches for them, prosecutors said.
He was arrested in November 2023 — after a report in The Times detailed numerous allegations of theft — and charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud.
His business was simple: Clients would send Farrer a watch and pay a small fee for his services. The fee was typically around 5% of the watch’s selling price, according to the Justice Department.
The collapse of the Timepiece Gentleman is a cautionary tale full of contradictions. A gaudy lifestyle that belied growing money problems. A fall that unfolded in front of millions but received little media attention. An alleged culprit who bounces between apologies and denials.
However, several clients began to notice their watches disappearing from the Timepiece Gentleman’s website without notice or payment. Rumors swirled on social media sites.
What clients, online sleuths and ultimately law enforcement found was essentially a Ponzi scheme, prosecutors said.
“Farrer took the clients’ money and used it for other purposes, including to fund his lavish lifestyle,†Martin Estrada, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said in a statement. That included buying or leasing luxury automobiles and apartments, Estrada said.
In other cases, Estrada said, Farrer would use watches as collateral for loans, unbeknownst to the watch owners.
Anthony Farrer’s alleged scheme was documented in a Times article in October. Alleged victims said they gave him watches worth $10,000 to $100,000 to sell, only to have the timepieces disappear.
“When a client who had sent him money asked Farrer about the status of a watch purchase, Farrer often sent another watch to the client to tide the client over or lull them into a false sense of security regarding the status of the purchase,†Estrada wrote. One such exchange was detailed in The Times’ report prior to Farrer’s arrest.
Farrer posted on social media about his debts in August, admitting that what he did was wrong.
“Spending people’s money, living above my means .… I’ve been digging myself this hole and it’s a $5-million hole,†he said in a video. “About $3 million of that debt is to two big clients of mine. One who acted as an investor and I used his money to fund my lifestyle.â€
Farrer is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 31. His scheme ensnared over 40 victims, some of whom are now suing to get their watches back.
Times staff writer Noah Goldberg contributed to this report.
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