BOSTON – A manufacturing supervisor at a fine jewelry company was sentenced today for stealing more than $1.7 million in gold, silver and platinum from his employer over a three-year period.
Benjamin Preacher, 54, of North Attleboro, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelly to 59 days in prison, followed by 10 months of home confinement and two years of supervised release, including 200 hours of community service. I received it. Mr. Preacher was also ordered to forfeit $1,267,093. The government recommended a sentence of 30 months in prison. In June 2024, Preacher pled guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property and one count of engaging in an unlawful financial transaction.
From 2018 to early 2024, Preacher worked as a production supervisor at a Rhode Island facility run by a company that sells jewelry and other luxury goods made of gold, silver and platinum. Preacher used his position overseeing the manufacturing and safety of fine jewelry to steal scrap precious metals from the company’s Rhode Island facility. Preacher then brought the stolen metal to Massachusetts and sold it to various Massachusetts businesses. Images of some of the stolen metal are shown below.
U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jonathan Wodicka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Criminal Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Basil, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial and Cyber Fraud Division, prosecuted the case.
