Whitehall Jewellers Inc. said on Thursday that it had fired chief financial officer Jon Browne as a result of an ongoing internal fraud investigation.
The investigation stems from charges of fraud brought by Capital Factors Inc, a receivables factoring company, and the related inquiry by government authorities.
In early October, Whitehall, a Chicago-based jewellery chain, said it was among several defendants in a lawsuit filed by Capital Factors Inc.
The allegations were related to Cosmopolitan Gem Corp., with which Whitehall has some consignment and other commercial arrangements, and which Capital Factors claims defrauded it into advancing funds by misrepresenting finances and the profitability of operations.
Others named in a suit by Capital Factors include Crescent Jewellers and Friedman's Inc.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York later opened investigations in the allegations.
