$90K diamond ring that sent man to prison is auctioned off

A 6.2-carat diamond ring that landed a prominent Scottsdale lawyer in prison sold for $71,000 Wednesday.

The ring, which is at the center of a bankruptcy fraud case, sold in a flurry of last-minute bidding that surpassed estimates and prompted multiple time extensions at the Phoenix auction house that put it up for sale.

The identity of the buyer was not available Wednesday.

The emerald-cut stone, set in white gold and surrounded by 52 smaller diamonds, originally retailed for $90,000 when a Scottsdale lawyer bought it for his fiancèe in 2012.

Scott Maasen, a former Maricopa County prosecutor who transitioned into a criminal-defense and DUI specialist, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for concealing the ring when he filed for bankruptcy.

George Cunningham, owner of Cunningham & Associates, estimated the ring would be sold for $60,000-$70,000.

About 15 minutes before bidding was scheduled to end, the top offer was $56,000.

The price began jumping in the last three minutes, going to from $61,000 to $66,000. That prompted auctioneers to add time to the auction clock as new bids came in $1,000 increments.

By the time the gavel came down just after 1 p.m.,146 bids had been placed on the ring.

The final price is 22 percent less than retail. Cunningham anticipated any buyer would be after the stones rather than the setting and said reputable jewelers would be able to customize the stones in a new ring for $5,000.

“In 30-plus years of doing this, this is the first 6carat solitary diamond I’ve seen,” Cunningham said in an earlier interview. “It’s pretty crazy.”

The ring was sold to settle Maasen’s debts. Proceeds will go to a federal bankruptcy trustee overseeing Maasen’s case, who will distribute money to a list of creditors.

As part of a plea deal in April, Maasen admitted to putting the ring in his father’s name and hiding it from the court when he filed for bankruptcy.

The court takes a dim view of people claiming they can’t pay their bills while secreting away cash and other valuables. In fact, it’s a crime. The court ordered its return so it could be sold.

Typical bankruptcy liquidation auctions involve business machines, restaurant equipment or even cars, Cunningham said. Occasionally, he gets precious jewelry. Never a ring with a diamond as big as this one.

Cunningham said he met Maasen while cataloging other assets at the former lawyer’s home.

“He seemed like a nice guy,” Cunningham said. “He was very polite, very open.”

Maasen’s lawyers said he hid the ring out of love for his then-girlfriend, Heather Holm. Court records now describe Holm as Maasen’s former fiancée.

“Make no mistake, while in bankruptcy, Mr. Maasen devised a way to propose to the woman he loved with a magnificent ring that was not reported in his bankruptcy proceedings,” his lawyer wrote in a recent court motion.

Neither Maasen nor his lawyer have returned calls seeking comment.

Maasen admitted that he purchased the ring to make it look like his father was the owner of the ring.

He and Holm later insured the ring on their homeowner’s policy, federal authorities said.

Federal authorities said Maasen had a habit of making lavish purchases while claiming he couldn’t pay bills.

Maasen drove a Maserati, bought million-dollar homes and leased a beachfront condominium in La Jolla, California.

Investigators with the Internal Revenue Service outlined a series of complex financial transactions they say Maasen orchestrated with his father and Holm to shield purchases from the court and creditors.

All three were indicted in 2017 on multiple charges, including conspiracy and concealment. Authorities claimed Maasen:

Bought a $1.1 million home on Camelback Mountain that he put in his father’s name days before filing for bankruptcy in 2009.

Claimed financial hardship to settle a $1.5 million Small Business Administration loan for $450,000 in 2012.

Applied for a $725,000 mortgage loan with Holm to buy a $1.2 million home in Scottsdale’s Silverleaf community at the same time he claimed he couldn’t repay the Small Business Administration loan.

Concealed his ownership interest in an investment group and hid hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Maasen in November asked a judge for probation, saying said he didn’t deserve any jail time. He cited a lifetime of service to his clients. His attorneys referred to his legal transgression as a”blip” in his life.

In exchange for Maasen’s guilty plea, federal authorities agreed to drop charges against his father and Holm.

Judge David Campbell last month ordered Maasen to surrender himself to the Bureau of Prisons on Jan. 11.