A glamorous Palm Beach jewelry store owner has been busted for allegedly duping Florida‘s elite with counterfeit Chanel, Rolex, Tiffany and Pucci after a bombshell police investigation.
Blesk Jewelry opened its doors on the iconic Worth Avenue 11 years ago, and it’s believed to have been peddling illegal replicas of big-name brands that have legitimate boutiques on the very same street.
Palm Beach Police launched undercover operations at the store – which has a second outlet on nearby South County Road – culminating in the arrest of its glamorous blond-haired owner Olena Austin.
The 51-year-old socialite also goes by the names of Helena Mykhaylova and Helena Gates. Police suspect she may be eastern European. She owns the business with her husband named Bill Gates.
Captain Will Rothrock of Palm Beach Police told DailyMail.com the case is likely to be the first of its kind at the famous shopping mecca. ‘We’ve not had reports of a counterfeit store on Worth Avenue before,’ he said.
Punctuated by 40-foot coconut palms and paved with oyster-shell concrete, the wide, sun-soaked boulevard stretches four blocks from Lake Worth to the Atlantic Ocean on the east side.
Wealthy patrons have flocked to the luxury shopping and dining district since the 1920s, and the sight of a police raid at Blesk on the night of June 6 is likely to have turned some heads.
Captain Rothrock said police seized 800 counterfeit items with an estimated value of $2 million during the interception. They arrested Austin, who was booked at the county jail.
The sting followed eight months of undercover investigations into Blesk’s two stores following a tip from the FBI in October.
Captain Rothrock told DailyMail.com the fake items seized included a Pucci dress being sold for less than a fifth of the price at $400, and a Van Cleef bracelet which would normally cost $20,000 to $30,000 listed for $500.
Officers asked employees of the dress ‘is this real Pucci?’ to which they said ‘yes’, but a representative of the luxury Italian brand confirmed the item was fake.
Counterfeit Chanel diamond earrings which normally cost quadruple figures were also on offer for $500. Police found that Blesk had not been authorized to sell these items even if they were the real deal.
Footage of Austin’s court appearance in the aftermath shows her looking worried while appearing to glance around the room for her husband, who attended the first hearing but made no comment to journalists who asked questions outside.
The courtroom scene was a far cry from the lifestyle Austin is accustomed to.
Her online presence offers a window into her glamorous social calendar.
On Facebook, several images show the sun-kissed socialite beaming with friends while wearing brightly colored cocktail dresses and glittering silver jewelry.
She even posted a photograph with Donald Trump at a ballroom venue during his vacation there in November 2016, days after he won the election.
Other photographs show Austin posing at Palm Beach Polo Club and enjoying life at the beach with her husband.
Gates co-owns the business with Austin, and Captain Rothrock told DailyMail.com the initial police investigation is far from finished.
‘I would not preclude any further chargers or arrests in this case,’ he said when asked about Gates.
Captain Rothrock said it is not the first time Blesk has had a brush with the law. Designer names came forward to complain about the knock-offs to another local law enforcement department seven years ago.
‘I have heard that around 2017, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office had involvement with Blesk and there was a court order associated with this business and the real brands,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘There was some sort of resolution to this case. It didn’t lead to any arrest, but perhaps confiscation of items and promises that they were not going to keep selling those items.’
It may have been that Austin accidentally outed herself in that same year during an interview with local news after her store was hit by a burglary.
Alleged thief Renald Louis, 32, of West Palm Beach, reportedly smashed his way into Blesk with a hammer after targeting several other stores on Worth Avenue. He seized 37 pieces of jewelry valued at $10,000.
Austin, who gave her name as Helena Mykhaylova to journalists, revealed the pieces were actually ‘travel diamonds’ – laser-cut replicas designed for residents to bring on vacation when they don’t want to risk packing their real diamonds.
‘I was shocked and I was impressed that our diamonds look so real even the thief was fooled,’ she told Palm Beach Daily News at the time.
Palm Beach Police issued an appeal for anyone who believes they may have unknowingly bought counterfeit goods from the store to call police – but Captain Rothrock said no-one has come forward yet.
‘We have not received any calls from the community, but I’m sure there are some victims out there,’ he said.
If you believe you have been sold counterfeit goods from Blesk Jewelry, police ask that you call 561-227-6464.
DailyMail.com has contacted the designer brands who were allegedly ripped off by the store. Those who responded were oblivious to the apparent scam.
A Chanel customer care advisor named Cameron gave recommendations on how to be sure you’re buying the real deal.
‘The only method by which you can ensure you are getting the correct product is by going to one of our official stores,’ he said.
‘You can also check on Chanel.com, at the very bottom of the page there’s a store locator. You can find the closest branch to you.
‘Chanel doesn’t provide authentication services, so this is the only way.’
Austin has posted bail and she will appear in court again in the coming months. DailyMail.com could not reach Austin for comment.