Palatine Council Member's Business Fined For Pawning

A jewelry shop partially owned by District 1 Village Council member Aaron Del Mar was cited by the state in Feburary for operating as a pawnbroker without a license.

State regulators issued a cease and desist order after an investigator contacted the shop on Dec. 9, 2010. A second order from the state assessed a $1,000 fine against Exquisite Jewelers, 1590 N. Rand Rd.

Although Del Mar founded the store, he said he now is a minority owner in the business, only owning about 15 percent of it.

"None of this had been brought to my attention," Del Mar said.

After being contacted by Palatine Patch Tuesday morning, Del Mar said he talked to the person who operates the shop on a day-to-day basis.

"Apparently one of our employees made a poor decision and was not educated," Del Mar said. "I'm quite embarrassed by this."

Del Mar said he wanted to have a meeting with the majority owner and he believes the employee should be terminated.

"This is unacceptable," Del Mar said. "They can terminate [the employee] or they can buy me out."

Del Mar said he did not believe this was a regular practice at Exquisite, but a one time issue.

The cease and desist order was issued by the banking division of the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation. The order states Exquisite Jewelers was contacted on Dec. 9 by an investigator.

"[A] representative of Exquisite Jewelers offered to loan an investigator...money in exchange for jewelry," the order states.

The Exquisite Jewelers representative then recited the terms, duration, fee and renewability of the loan, the order states. The state fined Exquisite Jewelers $1,000 for operating as a pawnbroker without a license.

The majority owner of Exquisite Jewelers, Twan Pham, said that an individual at the store did not realize that if jewelry was bought and sold back to the same person that was considered pawning.

"It was a mistake," Pham said.

In recent weeks, Del Mar has repeatedly vocalized concerns about the types of businesses .

On Monday, the Village Council discussed by Palatine Jewelry and Watch Shoppe, 293 N. Northwest Hwy., to allow "pawn loans" on a limited basis.

“I have a very hard time bringing pawning to the village of Palatine; it preys on people who are desperate for money at the time," Del Mar said at the meeting.

Although Del Mar commented on the request by Palatine Jewelry and Watch Shoppe, he recused himself from voting on the matter, citing his partial ownership in Exquisite Jewelers. The village delayed making a final decision on the request until March 21.

Del Mar also was a of a proposed tattoo parlor on Rand Road which was rejected by the council in February. And he supported the village looking into , 8 S. Brockway St., which was not registered with the state to do piercings.

Del Mar said he is uninvolved in the day-to-day operations of Exquisite Jewelers.

"Obviously I was not aware of any of this," Del Mar said. "I'm quite embarrassed by this, and it's not something I condone."