Hoffberg

In the short story The Adventure of 'The Western Star, Hoffberg' was a jeweller with premises at Hatton Gardens. Lord Yardly, who wanted to sell his diamond "The Star of the East", had approached Hoffberg to find a suitable buyer.

Portrayals
Hoffberg was played by Bruce Montague in the film adaptation of The Adventure of 'The Western Star' in Series 2 of ITV's Agatha Christie's Poirot. Here he had a larger role. He acted as the intermediary when Gregory Rolf wanted to sell his diamond (which he had obtained through blackmail from Lady Yardly) to Henrik van Braks. Poirot approached Hoffberg and threatened to report his dishonest dealings to Scotland Yard unless he cooperated. Hoffberg yielded to this threat. While examining Rolf's diamond, he substituted it for a fake one. Subsequently he refused to deal, forcing Rolf to meet van Braks directly. Poirot was then able to return the real diamond to Lady Yardly.