TOMS RIVER — Ocean County officials said the county’s Department of Consumer Affairs has settled a case involving a transient gold buyer accused of violating state and local rules while operating in the county.
The county Division of Weights & Measures opened the investigation in 2025 after receiving a complaint about gold purchases being conducted at a hotel on Route 70 near the Brick-Lakewood border. Investigators said the case centered on Tal Kalif, doing business as Estate Buyers and TK Diam, Inc., with listed addresses in Robbinsville, New Jersey, and Florida.
Under New Jersey law, gold buyers are required to maintain a bond with the State Office of Weights & Measures, and any scales used to purchase gold must be properly registered and inspected through the Ocean County Division of Weights & Measures.
Authorities said the business was found to be out of compliance with laws governing gold purchases and had also provided consumers with improperly completed receipts. Investigators initially seized three scales during the probe and determined that one of them did not measure weight in the customer’s favor.
“Protecting our community is at the core of Consumer Affairs’ mission, and their dedicated team works every day to ensure Ocean County residents are treated fairly and with integrity,” Ocean County Commissioner Robert S. Arace, liaison to the Department of Consumer Affairs, said in a statement.
As part of a consent agreement signed Jan. 7, Kalif agreed to permanently stop doing business in Ocean County, officials said. The agreement was read into the record March 16 before Judge Scott Basen in Lakewood Township Municipal Court. Kalif was also assessed a $40,000 penalty under the settlement.
“With gold prices climbing to record levels, reaching as high as $3,500 an ounce, the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs is aggressively enforcing the Consumer Fraud Act and the rules of the Division of Weights and Measures to stop deceptive business practices and safeguard residents,” Ronald Heinzman, director of the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs, said in a statement.
County officials said the matter was handled by members of the Division of Weights & Measures with legal oversight from Laura Comer, county counsel and prosecutor for Consumer Affairs. The department also credited the Lakewood Township Police Detective Bureau for assisting in the investigation.
