Victims Express Frustration Over Slow Moving Denton’s Case

By DAYNA DRUM | Reporter

Confusion among city officials and departments has stalled the case against Saad Mazboudi, owner of the now-closed Denton Jewelers, and is the source of frustration for many of the alleged jewelry thief’s victims.

After a months-long investigation by the Palisadian-Post concluded in July 2015, nearly 30 lawsuits were revealed, accusing Mazboudi of fraud, breach of contract, conversion and more.

The claims include missing jewelry pieces to altered items, often decreasing their value.

Now almost a year has elapsed since the storeowner’s sordid track record was revealed, and while the jewelers remained operational for several months after the store’s doors were officially closed on Feb. 13, and Mazboudi’s whereabouts are unknown.

Soon after the closure, LAPD’s Financial Crimes Division opened a criminal investigation into the shop owner.

The investigation has since been completed, and has apparently been handed over to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office. But as the case has passed hands, the file has vanished.

In early May, LAPD Detective Kristin Cho informed the Post she had filed the case with the DA, but numerous attempts within the DA’s office to locate the file have been unsuccessful.

The victims’ own tries to gather information about the case’s status have also gone unanswered by city officials.

“I would hope that a conspiracy to commit fraud might receive more attention from the authorities, especially as hundreds of thousands of dollars were stolen from numerous people,” victim Susan Toth told the Post.

The lingering question among many of the victims, Toth said, is where the money went.

Toth estimates Mazboudi owes her around $100,000, and although she has a lien on his house, she considers it might be worthless among all the other possible liens.

Other victims have revealed that neither LAPD nor the DA ever contacted them regarding the case and its prosecution.

Another victim, Aaron Schmidt, said recovering his losses would be nice, but at the very least he would like Mazboudi held responsible for his actions.

There is also a lingering worry that the story of the havoc Mazboudi caused will simply fade away.

“I hope law enforcement follows up on the matter because he obviously hurt a lot of folks in the Palisades and it’s likely that if unchecked he will continue his ways,” Denton victim Charlie Matthau said.

While both offices have claimed to have done their due diligence, the case against Mazboudi is still missing.