Whitehall Jewellers Shrinks Board of Directors

Two Whitehall Jewellers board members have resigned their positions as directors as part of the company's recently announced corporate governance initiatives. Executive VP of Operations Matthew Patinkin and Executive VP and Interim CFO John Desjardins will retain their current positions.

Whitehall's Board will now consist of five members, four of whom are independent directors.

Whitehall is entangled in a US Department of Justice and SEC investigations on stemming from a legal dispute that has been partly responsible for its third-quarter loss, citing growing legal bills.

The jewelry retailer is one of 14 defendants in a lawsuit filed last August by Capital Factors alleging Whitehall, Friedman’s Jewelers and other jewelry companies misrepresented their finances fraudulently in exchange for merchandise discounts.