A New York billionaire was duped by a British watch seller into buying $700,000 worth of fake Rolexes, according to a lawsuit.
J. Darius Bikoff, who made $325 million when he sold the drink company he co-founded, Energy Brands, to Coca-Cola in 2007 for $4.1 billion, started buying up fancy timepieces after a watch-collector friend introduced him to British expert James Dowling.
Dowling co-authored a book called “Best of Time: Rolex Wristwatches” and puts himself forth as a collector who buys older, unique watches, “not run-of-the-mill pieces,” his site says.
The pair met at the International Watch Show in Manhattan in 2011 and Bikoff plunked down $700,000 over the next two years on fancy watches from Dowling, including a Rolex 6538 Submariner for $94,000 and a Rolex Tektite GEV for a whopping $395,000.
When he tried to sell them, he discovered they were overpriced or counterfeit, he claims.
When Bikoff demanded a refund, he says Dowling claimed the timepieces had actually gone up in value.
Dowling didn’t respond to a request for comment.



