BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Erie County District Attorney's office is asking for help from victims of a former Village of Williamsville jeweler.
Paul Blarr of Amherst is scheduled to appear before the New York Board of Parole in January of 2023 for stealing nearly a million dollars from numerous people.
The DA has attempted to contact more than 200 victims impacted by Blarr in the last several weeks and are asking for input in the upcoming hearing.
The office says anyone who they attempted to contact can expect a letter soon showing how you can provide a victim impact statement ahead of the parole review.
They're asking all the necessary information be sent by Friday, Dec. 9.
“This case may have the most victims of any white-collar crime prosecuted by this office. This defendant admitted to scamming his customers over the course of nearly two decades. While we have attempted to contact everyone who was impacted by his crimes, some victims may have moved or changed their phone number since his conviction. I encourage anyone who was a victim of this jewelry scam to contact my office as soon as possible for more information on how to submit a statement as part of the upcoming Parole Board review,” said Erie County DA John Flynn.
Blarr is the former owner of RSNP Diamond Exchange previously located on Main Street in Williamsville. He admitted to selling fake diamonds and other false gems with the intent to scam people.
He also stole diamonds and other gems by replacing them with fake stones in customers' jewelry. In addition, he scammed customers by agreeing to help sell their jewelry and receive some revenue as well, but he failed to provide payment on sold items.
All of these crimes happened from January 1997 to March 2014.
Blarr pleaded guilty to:
- Eleven counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (Class “D” felonies).
- Three counts of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree.
- One count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree (Class “E” felonies).
As part of Blarr's plea deal, he is ordered to pay $928,266 in restitution. However, no money has been paid to the victims yet.
Blarr was sentenced to prison in January 2015 for 23 to 69 years but later it was changed to 10 to 20 years.
Any victim interested in contacting the parole board is asked to call Brian Dassero of the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit at 716-858-2559.