When a well-known Scranton jeweler shut its doors last month without warning, dozens of customers were left in limbo.
Many left wedding rings and family heirlooms at Van Scoy Diamonds in Scranton for repair. Now they wonder if they will ever get anything back.
Christine DeSousa of Throop married on a shoestring budget almost five years ago. "The wedding was very small, I was eight months pregnant," said Throop as she looked at wedding photos.
Last month, she and her husband paid Van Scoy Jewelers in Scranton's Keyser Oaks Shopping Center more than $800 for a new, more expensive set of wedding rings. They plan to renew their vows for their upcoming anniversary and hold the kind of wedding they originally wanted.
Two weeks ago, Christine went to pick up her ring, and saw a sign on the front door. "My stomach dropped. I looked in the windows," she said. "Everything was dark. They had the mannequins and stuff but everything was empty. It looked like they were gone."
About the same time, Christy Graziano tried to pick up the $4,000 wedding ring she dropped off at Van Scoy's to be reset. "Its very sentimental," said Graziano. "I've been married 10 years and I don't have a wedding band to wear."
The sign reads, "Temporarily Closed."
The reality is the business may never reopen because last month a court trustee forced Van Scoy's in Scranton into Chapter 7 bankruptcy. That means a creditor, in this case a diamond wholesaler Van Scoy owed money, wants a federal bankruptcy court to shut down the jeweler, and sell off its assets.
"Richard Sendrick, who owns and operates this particular business, has no control over whether or not he can open that store or close it," said his lawyer Jonathan Comitz. He understands why so many Van Scoy customers worry they will lose the money they've already paid, or sentimental jewelry that professionals worked on when the business shut down without warning.
"We're not out to hurt anybody," said Comitz, referring to Van Scoy's owner. "We will do everything in our power to work with these folks to get their money back, get their property back."
"I just hope that in the end, we get our ring back," Christie Graziano said. She is angrier. "To know that for the next few months, I'll be paying this off on my credit card, without the ring is devastating," she said, hoping to find a way to get the new ring she paid for or get her money back soon; at least while the "Temporarily Closed" sign hangs at Van Scoy's shuttered store.
"I worry that the sign's going to come down and there's going to be a new store there," DeSousa added.
It's important to note that the Van Scoy's in Scranton is not affiliated with Van Scoy's Diamond Mine outlets in Wilkes-Barre or Reading. Those who have jewelry at the Scranton store, or people who made partial payments and want their money back, should contact either the bankruptcy trustee or the lawyer for Van Scoy's owner at:
Bankruptcy Trustee Robert P. Shiels Shiels Law LLC 108 North Abington Rd. Clarks Summit, PA http://www.shielslaw.com (570) 587-0313.
Attorney for VanScoy Owner Jonathan Comitz Comitz Law Firm, LLC 121 South Memorial Highway Shavertown, PA 18708 jcomitz@comitzlaw.com (570) 763-0399.