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Stolen $100K Diamond Returned To Owner

Jeweler Paid $35K For Stolen Diamond

POSTED: Wednesday, January 7, 2009
UPDATED: 9:22 am EST January 7, 2009

A 7.5-carat diamond worth an estimated $100,000 that had been stolen from a Gloucester, Mass., home has been returned to its owner by a jeweler who faced legal action unless he gave it back.

The diamond was returned to Gloucester District Court on Tuesday, where police had it appraised before giving it to its owner. In exchange, prosecutors dropped charges of receiving stolen property against jeweler David Guiness, who at first refused to return the gem because he said he would lose money.

Authorities told The Gloucester Daily Times that Guiness paid $35,000 for the diamond. Police said he bought it from 22-year-old Laura Vielma, who allegedly stole it while working as a nurse at the owner's home. She also took a bracelet, 12 gold coins and a gold necklace, prosecutors said.

Investigators froze a bank account Vielma opened shortly after the diamond disappeared that contained around $25,000, the remaining proceeds of the sale to Guiness after she had gone on a spending spree that included a new plasma television, laptop computer, purse and new shoes, The Salem News reported.

Four counts of larceny against Vielma were continued without a finding for two years.

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