PORT ANGELES — A Sequim man has 40 felony charges pending for theft and for writing bad checks from his gold and coin business in recent years.
State Attorney General Nick Brown’s office is prosecuting Kurt Miller, owner of Gold Rush Jewelry and Coin, 425 E. Washington St. Suite 3, and Miller’s employee, Kimberly Stober, following dozens of customer complaints to police.
Sequim Police Sgt. Maris Larsen said that, from September 2022 to August 2024, there were multiple transactions at Gold Rush during which Miller and Stober bought, sold or consigned precious metals and taken in jewelry for repair, but in most instances, they bought precious metals and jewelry using three different Wells Fargo accounts with insufficient funds, according to the Attorney General’s probable cause statement from Dec. 31.
Court documents state there are 22 individuals or couples who allegedly lost money or services at Gold Rush.
Miller is accused of taking various amounts, including $50,000, and writing more than $60,000 in checks without sufficient funds available.
Miller faces nine counts of first-degree theft, seven counts of second-degree theft, five counts of third-degree theft, 14 counts of unlawful issuance of a check greater than $750, and five counts of unlawful issuance of a check less than $750. He could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
Miller did not appear at his first court hearing on Jan. 23 in Clallam County Superior Court.
Tienney Milnor, section chief for Brown’s Major Economic Crimes Unit, said a summons was sent to Miller’s physical address but not his mailing address, so they planned to reissue the summons.
According to court documents, Miller was issued the summons on Jan. 27.
Stober appeared in court on Jan. 23 and pleaded not guilty through defense attorney William Payne to 12 felony charges, mostly alleged in 2024. Those include four counts of first-degree theft, three counts of second-degree theft and five counts of unlawful issuance of a bank check greater than $750.
Judge Simon Barnhart agreed to Milnor’s requested conditions of release on personal recognizance. She could face up to 10 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.
Stober’s five-day trial was tentatively set to begin on April 13 with a status hearing at 9 a.m. March 13.
The Sequim Police Department and the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET) served a search warrant at Gold Rush Jewelry on Aug. 29, 2024, after months of investigating customer complaints of services not being rendered and/or checks having insufficient funds, Police Chief Mike Hill previously said.
Miller was arrested the same day but later released as he declined an interview, Hill said.
Since then, the Attorney General’s Office has taken on the investigation.
Bank robbery update
A trial date for the man accused of robbing Sequim’s Kitsap Bank last year will tentatively be reset this week.
Dale Allen Jaff, 58, appeared in Clallam County Superior Court on Jan. 30, and Judge Brent Basden set Jaff’s trial schedule reset date for 1 p.m. Friday.
Jaff, who is accused of robbing Sequim’s Kitsap Bank on April 9, 2025, was supposed to go to trial on Jan. 26, but his defense attorney, Alex Stalker, needed more time to speak with an expert. Stalker said on Jan. 30 he planned to speak with the expert last week, according to court documents.
Jaff, of Port Hadlock, pleaded not guilty in mid-May to felony charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree theft and second-degree assault.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
