A Sequim man has 40 felony charges pending for theft and/or for writing bad checks from his Sequim gold and coin business in recent years.
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 with less charges following dozens of customer complaints to police.
According to the Attorney General’s probable cause statement from Dec. 31, 2025, Sgt. Maris Larsen with Sequim Police Department wrote that from September 2022-August 2024 there had been multiple transactions occurring at Gold Rush where Miller and Stober have bought, sold, or consigned precious metals and taken in jewelry for repair, but in most instances they’d buy precious metals and jewelry using three different Wells Fargo accounts with insufficient funds.
Court documents state that there are 22 individuals or couples who allegedly lost money or services at Gold Rush in the court cases.
Miller is accused of taking various amounts, including $50,000, and writing more than $60,000 in checks without sufficient funds available.
He faces nine counts of theft in the first degree, seven counts of theft in the second degree, five counts of theft in the third degree, 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 for the strictest theft charge.
However, Miller did not appear at his first court appearance 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 would reissue the summons.
According to court documents, Miller was issued the summons on Jan. 27. His first appearance in court is now set for 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 6.
Stober did appear in court on Jan. 23, and pleaded not guilty through defense attorney William Payne to 12 different felony charges mostly alleged in 2024.
Those include four counts of theft in the first degree, three counts of theft in the second degree, and five counts of unlawful issuance of a bank check for 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 for the strictest theft charge.
Stober’s five-day trial is tentatively set to begin on April 13 with a status hearing at 9 a.m. March 13.
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, said Police Chief Mike Hill in a previous interview.
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 trial update
A trial date for the man who is accused of robbing Sequim’s Kitsap Bank last year will tentatively be reset next week.
Dale Allen Jaff, 58, appeared in Clallam County Superior Court on Jan. 30 with Judge Brent Basden setting Jaff’s trial schedule reset date for 1 p.m. Feb. 13.
Originally, 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 was speaking with the expert this week, according to court documents.
Jaff, of Port Hadlock, pleaded not guilty in mid-May to felony charges of robbery in the first degree, theft in the second degree, and assault in the second degree.
