Saks clients complained about stylist long before he was accused of $400,000 scam

a criminal complaint the Boston Police Department filed this month with the city’s Municipal Court. The complaint said Kwatra then transferred the money from the refunds onto store gift cards and subsequently purchased merchandise with those gift cards.The Saks officials gave police a letter they said Kwatra wrote, estimating total losses at more than $400,000.

The amount included fraudulent refunds, mismanagement of promotional cards and giving unpaid merchandise to clients, according to the complaint, which said Kwatra apologized and promised to repay the money.Kwatra denies the allegations. He said the accusations in the police report are an effort by Saks to retaliate against him for considering a new job with a competitor.

“I have always strived to adhere to company policies and provide the very best service to my clients,” he said in a statement earlier this month.His attorney, Jennifer Furey, said he signed the note under duress and “after false promises that no criminal involvement or reputational harm would be brought against him.”Furey added that Kwatra’s supervisors condoned his distribution of gift cards and other perks to clients to entice them to continue shopping at Saks. “None of this was secretive, and all of it was aimed at benefiting Saks and the brands,” she said.Saks declined to comment on Furey’s statements.The Journal has spoken with six of Kwatra’s current and former clients, who allege Kwatra’s mismanagement of their purchases and returns cost them thousands of dollars.

They said they had reported some of the incidents to Saks as far back as 2013.Other clients said they never had a problem with Kwatra and are baffled by the accusations. “He was always an advocate for his clients, upfront about