Saints QB Drew Brees wins $6.1M in diamond fraud lawsuit against California jeweler

Credit: Streeter Lecka/ Getty Images

Credit: Streeter Lecka/ Getty Images

A jury in San Diego on Friday awarded New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees more than $6.1 million in damages in his civil lawsuit against a California jeweler the Saints star said misled him about the value of diamonds, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

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Superior Court jurors sided with Brees in his suit against Vihad Moradi of CJ Charles Jewelers last year, the newspaper reported. Brees and his wife, Brittany, alleged the La Jolla jeweler lied to them about the value of diamonds they bought as an investment, according to court documents.

The jury awarded Brees $6,130,767. The quarterback, who played for the San Diego Chargers from 2001 to 2005, was not in court for the decision, the Union-Tribune reported.

"The jury worked hard and saw Mr. Moradi as the confidence man that he is," Brees said in a joint statement with his attorney, Andrew Kim.

Moradi and his attorney, Kevin Rooney, said they "passionately disagree" with the verdict and intend to appeal, the New Orleans Advocate reported.

According to the lawsuit, Brees alleged Moradi valued the diamonds in question at $15 million, the Union-Tribune reported.

The diamonds were assessed to be worth millions of dollars less than $15 million, the newspaper reported.

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