Benjamin Preacher, a 54-year Massachusettsan, pled guilty to an over three-year scheme of stealing and selling precious metals from his employer Thursday, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.
Preacher’s illicit side business totaled to over $1 million worth of sales from this period, the press release reads.
Luxury Jewelry Company Supervisor Pleads Guilty to Stealing, Selling Millions of Dollars Worth of Precious Metals https://t.co/0IUwJ4NkoZ
— Ilan Hulkower (@IHulkower) June 7, 2024
Preacher used his position as a manufacturing supervisor to a luxury jewelry company in Rhode Island to steal gold, silver and platinum and sell these precious metals to various businesses, according to the press release. Preacher sold precious metals to a metals dealer in Canton around once to twice each month from roughly March 2020 to March 2023. The sales to that business alone added up to over a million dollars in profit. (RELATED: ‘It’s Not Going To Happen To Me’: Homeowner Hit With Car By Thieves Details Shocking Story)
He also sold over $177,000 in stolen precious metals to another dealer from approximately May 16 to Nov. 16 2023, the press release reads. Preacher was caught March 1, 2024 by security cameras “stealing a piece of white gold ‘flat stock,’ measuring approximately an inch in diameter and approximately as thick as a quarter, valued at roughly $2,200.” When his home was searched on March 14 other precious metals “in scrap form” were found.
Preacher’s interstate transportation of stolen goods could land him in jail for as much as ten years and “three years supervised release,” as well as a fine as high as “$250,000 or twice the amount of monetary gain or loss,” according to the DOJ. Preacher could await a similar prison sentence for “unlawful monetary transactions.”
