An employee of a Rhode Island jewelry factory has been charged with money laundering after he allegedly stole gold, silver, and platinum scrap from his employer and pawned it at local shops.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, Benjamin Preacher had worked as a manufacturing supervisor for an unnamed luxury jewelry company from 2018 until this month. In early March, company cameras caught him “palming” some white gold “flat stock” during his shift and putting it in his pocket, the release said. The gold, thick as a quarter, was worth over $2,000, it said.
An affidavit filed by Internal Revenue Service special agent Rebecca Limage said that Preacher admitted the theft to company officials and told them he’d been stealing precious metals from the company since 2018.
According to the affidavit, the defendant hocked the metals to one Massachusetts dealer at least once a month for three years. Sales to that dealer are believed to have exceeded $1 million, Limage said.
A law enforcement search of Preacher’s North Attleboro, Mass., home found more scrap metal, and employees at the jewelry company believe some of the items discovered there originated at their facility, the filing said.
Preacher, 54, has been charged with one count of unlawful monetary transactions, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
His lawyer did not return a request for comment by the time of publication.
Top: Some of the “scrap” Preacher is said to have allegedly stolen (photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice)
Follow JCK on Instagram: @jckmagazineFollow JCK on Twitter: @jckmagazine
Follow JCK on Facebook: @jckmagazine
