In late 2024, Chrisanne Grimaldi was facing a common problem. The 60-year-old Denver resident was drowning in medical debt totaling $80,000 and needed cash to pay down her debt.

"I had a candelabra, an 18-karat gold necklace, a lot of sterling, odds and ends," she told CBS News Colorado. "I think it was good stuff."

So she located a jewelry store in the city's Cherry Creek North neighborhood that bought precious metals by weight.

She took her belongings to David Ellis jewelers and left with a check for more than $16,000. But she said something about the transaction felt "off" to her. She said when store personnel weighed her belongings, they took them to another room and weighed them out of her sight.

"I had alarm bells ringing," said Grimaldi.

Chrisanne Grimaldi CBS

Knowing state

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