Skip to main contentThe curious case of U.S. Gold & Silver Investments, Inc., is becoming slightly more clear. As WW reported in Wednesday's print edition, the Portland precious metals company, which claims to have been serving investors since 1972, has recently posted on its website and left on its answering machine a message that says, "We are currently not accepting new clients and are working hard to resolve current clients' accounts."
Lawrence Heim, the owner of the company, is unreachable and his lawyer, Martin Meyers, has declined to comment.
But a lawsuit filed late last month in Washington County sheds some light on the situation. That lawsuit [PDF], filed by the personal representatives of the late investor Tom Holce, seeks damages of $200,000 from U.S. Gold & Silver.
The lawsuit claims that Holce bought about $30,000 worth of silver coins in 1996 and 1997 from U.S. Gold & Silver. The company held onto the coins, which steadily increased in value as precious metals prices rose. In 2007, the lawsuit says, Holce asked for his coins but Heim convinced him to accept instead interest of 5 percent per year based on the appreciated value of $83,400.
In December 2010, the lawsuit says, Holce's representatives asked for his coins and unpaid interest.
"Defendant promised to return the coins, or the equivalent cash value thereof, along with the unpaid interest, but has failed to do so," says the lawsuit, filed by Carter Mann, the lawyer for Holce's personal representatives.
Mann told WW that he's aware of at least three other investors who are seeking return of their funds and also says that a criminal investigation in underway.
WWeek 2015