Judith Ripka, whose jewelry was once featured as one of Oprah’s favorite things, is being sued by interior designer Tristan Harstan for demanding he pay for her furniture by having sex with supplier, Nancy Corzine, as reported by the Daily News. Harstan said that the jeweler, who has 120 stores across the U.S., including a high-profile location on Madison Avenue designed by Harstan, was regularly trading jewelry with Nancy Corzine for furniture for her home and her stores. Finally, according to Harstan, when Ripka was tired of trading her own jewels, she decided Tristan should contribute some of his, and asked him to do so at least 3 times in nine years.
“Do whatever it takes, ” she reportedly said, but Harstan reminded her he was an interior decorator and not a prostitute, according to a claim filed in a Manhattan Supreme Court. Harstan discussed his commissions, and said that while his fees he was going to receive from Ripka would have amounted to $1. 2 million, he made an agreement to receive $120, 000 a year from her along with benefits. Harstan says Ripka still owes him $105, 000. Ripka sold her company in 2014.
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