Back in April, Drew Brees learned of his fate at the hands of a crooked jeweler he had placed his trust in. The NFL quarterback was hoping to sell some of his prized diamond collection so he sought an appraisal from Vahid Moradi, a jeweler who runs the CJ Charles shop in downtown San Diego. The most disconcerting of his appraisals was on a 4.09 carat blue diamond ring he had purchased for $8.8 million. Brees was told the resale market would fetch him something in the region of $3.75 million, a figure Drew agreed to settle on knowing no better.
After the sale, Brees sought a second opinion from an independent source who revealed to him he'd likely been set up. The ensuing lawsuit he filed against Moradi accused the jeweler of conspiring to drive the price down. Brees accused Moradi of receiving a commission from a mystery buyer. Moradi's high-powered attorney Eric George responded with accusations of his own: "He should restrict his game-playing to the football field, and refrain from bullying honest, hard-working businessmen like my client."
Since then Eric George has become an interesting figure in this ongoing legal battle. During a recent deposition George informed Brees of the current evaluation of the 4.09 carat he sold for $3.75 million. "Would it surprise you to know that it's being offered right now at a wholesaler's for $6.8 million?" George asked to a completely dumbfounded Brees. TMZ has learned that George's $6.8 million evaluation might only be the starting bid, for the asking price could soar as high as $10 million on the open market.
Brees' attorney Andrew Kim doesn't want this startling revelation to detract from Moradi's alleged wrongdoing. "(The wholesaler) is offering it at what he's offering it. stated Andrew Kim. "The real story is what he's able to sell the piece for. We'll be fairly surprised if he gets anything close to what he's asking for."
