Jeweler and Wife Accused of Predatory Lending to Military Servicemembers

Sacramento, CA – On October 3, 2017,  the California State Attorney General, Xavier Becerra, outlined criminal charges against jeweler Ramil Abalkhad and his wife, Melina Abalkhad. The couple were directly admonished in a 10-page complaint.

According to Becerra, the duo targeted sailors and marines by pressuring them to purchase jewelry using MBNB Financial for credit.

Melina owns MBNB Financial and Ramil owns his own jewelry store. In the 10-page complaint, Melina is accused of withholding legally required information to borrowers regarding their interest rates, monthly payments and financing.

In addition, the accused also impersonated attorneys and created a fake law firm. They threatened military customers with court-martials if loans were not repaid.

The couple was arrested on September 26, 2017 and charged with 14 counts of illegal financing and debt collection.

 

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