Anthony Farrer, the so-called Timepiece Gentleman, has been charged “in a federal criminal complaint filed Monday with wire fraud, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.” He was arrested at a storage facility in Venice and an arraignment is planned for December 14.
The complaint describes a pattern of behavior synonymous with a Ponzi scheme in which new investment goes to pay back older investments. In Farrer’s case, he took watches on consignment, sold them, and never returned the cash. He also often sent other client’s watches instead of payment.
From the Timepiece Gentleman complaint:
The complaint alleges that Farrer defrauded victims beginning in late 2022 until the summer of 2023, when he promised customers he would sell their luxury watches on consignment. Rather than remitting funds back to the customers less the commission, he kept the proceeds for himself. Farrer lived in a luxury rental property and was known to drive a Lamborghini and Ducati motorcycles. He traveled frequently to, and engaged in gambling in, Las Vegas, according to the complaint.
Farrer induced victims into wiring funds for the purchase of luxury watches and, instead of purchasing the agreed upon watch, he would send them a different watch, the complaint alleges. In one case, a victim received a Rolex watch from Farrer in lieu of money Farrer owed, but the Rolex belonged to another victim who had provided the watch to Farrer to sell on consignment and did not authorize Farrer to use the watch as payment for his debts to other victims.
The complaint further alleges that Farrer operated a scheme in a similar manner to a Ponzi scheme and would lull victims into a sense of security by engaging in smaller successful transactions prior to requesting or engaging in significantly larger transactions.
Multiple victims contacted law enforcement to report that they wired funds to Farrer for the purchase of a watch, or mailed him a watch to consign for sale, but were never paid for the watch or never received their watch back. To date, law enforcement estimates that victim losses currently total approximately $3 million. The investigation is ongoing and law enforcement is in the process of identifying additional victims.
Farrar first made news when his Timepiece Gentleman store closed suddenly in Dallas after allegedly taking a few thousand dollars from so-called investors who wanted to take part in Farrar’s watch trading system. Farrar also ran YouTube content focusing on the life of a watch trader.
Farrar was a self-described felon and tried to become a watch dealer after a stint in jail.
“I was devastated by both events. I was practically driving under the influence every other night. I could’ve been killed too, but my twin was dead instead. And then I missed the birth of my son because of the stupid life I was living. I told myself it was over”, he told NetNewsledger. “Those months were instrumental to my life because they gave me an opportunity to really reflect and be innovative. But it was tough too.
Farrer stole $3 million from 20 victims, including one who lost his life savings according to the LA Times.
“Spending people’s money, living above my means. … I’ve been digging myself this hole and it’s a $5-million hole,” said Farrar in an Aug. 2 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.”
Watch the video version of this post here:
About the Author / Author Expertise & Authority
John Biggs: I live in Brooklyn, NY and write about technology, security, gadgets, gear, wristwatches, and the Internet. After spending four years as an IT programmer, I switched gears and became a full-time journalist. My work has appeared in the New York Times, Laptop, PC Upgrade, Gizmodo, Men’s Health, InSync, Popular Science, and I’ve written a book called Marie Antoinette’s Watch about the most famous and mysterious watch ever made. I am the former East Coast Editor of TechCrunch.com.
