“The Timepiece Gentleman,” Arrested on Suspicion of Defrauding Customers
By Dolores Quintana
A Los Angeles man, Anthony Farrer, known for his business “Gentlemen Timepieces” in Beverly Hills, appeared in court following his arrest by FBI agents on charges of defrauding customers in his luxury watch consignment business. Farrer, 35, was charged with wire fraud, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
“The Timepiece Gentleman,” as Farrer was also known, was arrested at a Venice storage facility without incident. The federal criminal complaint alleges that he defrauded victims from late 2022 to the summer of 2023 by not remitting proceeds from luxury watch sales back to customers as promised.
According to the complaint, Farrer induced victims to wire funds for watch purchases, sending different watches than agreed upon. He lived a lavish lifestyle, residing in a luxury rental property, driving a Lamborghini and Ducati motorcycles, and engaging in frequent travel and gambling in Las Vegas.
Operating similarly to a Ponzi scheme, Farrer allegedly lulled victims with smaller successful transactions before engaging in larger ones. Multiple victims reported wiring funds or consigning watches to Farrer but were never paid or received their watches back, resulting in estimated losses of around $3 million.
Farrer abandoned the Beverly Hills store in August 2023, showcasing travels on social media. Despite ongoing investigations, he continued advertising watches for sale as recently as October 2023. The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and Beverly Hills Police Department are handling the case.
A criminal complaint contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua O. Mausner of the Violent and Organized Crime Section is prosecuting the case.
