An Ontario-based auctioneer who held a high-end jewelry sale in Saskatoon is demanding the provincial government apologize and pay him thousands of dollars after his company received bad publicity prompted by a government alert.

“Basically the suggestion to the buyer was to be careful, that some kind of fraudulent activity was going on,” said auctioneer Jim Mirkalami, who works for Heritage Auctioneers Alberta Ltd.

On Oct. 21 at the Saskatoon Inn, Mirkalami set out to auction more than 200 pieces of “high value jewelry confiscated for non-payment.” He says it cost him $12,000 to run the sale in Saskatoon and he wants compensation from the province and from a radio reporter who attended the auction.

Posted: 10|27|07 at 12:58 pm. Filed under: Auction News.