The US version of Antiques Roadshow is facing controversy after its jewelry and watch expert, Kevin Zavian, was arrested following accusations from his two younger sisters, Robin and Ellen.
Kevin, 67, is accused of stealing $6 million worth of jewels from the family business, Cluster Jewelry. The company was founded by their grandfather and great uncle.
Court documents show Kevin claims that all the jewelry he handled belonged either to himself, their father Berj, or the jewelry department at the William Doyle Auction House, where he works.
Kevin denies the theft charges and says he acted with the permission of his father, 95-year-old Berj. He has also filed a $165 million lawsuit against his sisters, accusing them of “thieving and conniving” behavior.
The lawsuit states that Kevin “removed certain jewelry and diamonds from Cluster Jewelry’s premises with the express permission of his father.” It adds that these items were “the rightful property of either Kevin personally, Berj, or Doyle Auction House.”
Berj supports the lawsuit. Kevin and their father claim that Robin and Ellen “systematically looted” around $1 million worth of jewelry from the family business. The lawsuit also alleges the sisters persuaded Berj to change his will to exclude Kevin, which lawyers called “a disgraceful exploitation of the parent-child relationship.”
The complaint says: “This disgraceful plundering of the family heritage shows how far the defendants are willing to go in their ruthless scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of their brother and elderly father.”
It further accuses Robin of physically assaulting both Kevin and Berj, calling the situation “a shocking moral breakdown within what was once a close-knit family.”
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