Supplier BulletinJul 03, 2025
Protect Your Customers and Your BusinessSponsored by the Gemological Institute of America
CrimeAug 14, 2018
Jewelry Shop Bookkeeper Gets 9-Month Sentence for Embezzling
Shao Cai pleaded guilty to stealing more than $100,000 from San Francisco’s Jest Jewels.
San Francisco—A bookkeeper who pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $100,000 from the jewelry store that employed him was handed a nine-month sentence last week.
According to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, 60-year-old Shao Cai worked as the bookkeeper for jewelry and gift store Jest Jewels, which has three locations in San Francisco and one in Berkeley, from 2002 to 2017.
Officials said he used “various schemes” to hide his conduct.
Cai was arrested on felony charges in November and admitted Thursday to writing fraudulent checks and depositing them into his own personal bank account between 2012 and 2016.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of felony grand theft “with a white-collar crime enhancement,” which refers to a suspect committing multiple related felonies involving fraud or the embezzlement of more than $100,000.
Cai was sentenced to six months in county jail and three months in the Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program. He will be on probation for three years after he completes his sentence.
He also is required to pay $111,631.66 in restitution to his victims within a three-month period. If Cai fails to pay he will have to serve an additional two years and four months in state prison.
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