Antiques Roadshow in the US has been rocked by scandal after the show's jewelry and watch expert, Kevin Zavian, was accused of stealing from his family's jewellery business by his two younger sisters, Robin, 66 and Ellen, 61.
The TV personality, 67, was arrested following accusations that he had taken $6 million worth of jewels from Cluster Jewelry, their family business which was originally founded by their grandfather and grant uncle.
According to court documents, Kevin has claimed that all jewellery he handled belonged to himself, his father or his jewellery department at the William Doyle Auction House.
However, not only has Kevin vehemently denied the claims, claiming that he was acting on behalf of the siblings' father, Berj, 95, but he has also filed a $165 million lawsuit against his sisters, claiming "thieving and conniving" behaviour.
The complaint reads that Kevin "removed certain jewellery and diamonds from Cluster Jewelry’s premises with the express permission of his father" and that they were "the rightful property of either Kevin personally, Berj, or Doyle Auction House, where Kevin is employed as an appraiser'.
His father has supported the lawsuit, with the pair claiming that Robin and Ellen "systematically looted" around $1million worth of jewellery from the company themselves. The lawsuit also goes on to claim that the two sisters "induced" Berj to change his will to exclude Kevin with him realising at the time, which lawyers described as a "a disgraceful exploitation of the parent-child relationship".
The lawsuit reads: "This disgraceful plundering of the family heritage demonstrates the depths to which Defendants are willing to sink in their ruthless scheme to enrich themselves at the expense of their brother and elderly father."
It also accuses Robin of having physically assaulted Kevin and Berj, adding that it was "a shocking moral breakdown within what was once a close-knit family."
