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PROVO — A California jeweler already facing a slew of charges accusing him of conning Utahns with fake jewelry and paintings is now facing more charges after another alleged victim was identified.
William David Leavitt, 54, of Carlsbad, California, was charged Thursday in 4th District Court with two counts of criminal simulation and two counts of communications fraud, second-degree felonies.
In total, Leavitt is now charged with 11 counts of criminal simulation and six counts of communications fraud, all second-degree felonies, in five cases.
According to his latest charges, Leavitt offered to sell a victim in Utah a canary diamond ring.
"(He) represented the ring as a 2.10 carat vivid canary diamond center stone surrounded by 1.60 carats of white diamonds. (Leavitt) said that the retail price for the ring was $120,000 but offered to sell it to (the victim) for the wholesale price of $45,000," according to charging documents.
In 2022, Leavitt sold the same person a sapphire women's ring for $30,000 that he claimed was worth $80,000, the charges state.
"In August 2023, both the canary diamond ring and the sapphire ring were tested and appraised. Analysis revealed that the canary diamond center stone and the sapphire center stone were lab grown. As a result, the canary diamond ring is only valued at $8,000, and the sapphire diamond ring is only valued at $5,000," charging documents state.
Leavitt is already accused of defrauding one victim by giving her fake Monet and Van Gogh paintings and for allegedly selling lab-grown diamonds to at least two other people after saying they were natural diamonds.
