Boston—Benjamin Preacher, a manufacturing supervisor employed by an undisclosed luxury jewelry company, was apprehended last week on suspicion of pilfering precious metals from the company’s factory located in Rhode Island.
According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts, on March 15, Preacher, 54, a resident of North Attleboro, Massachusetts, faces charges of money laundering related to the purported theft of gold, silver, and platinum from the jewelry company spanning a period exceeding three years.
Following his appearance in federal court in Boston on the same day, Preacher was charged via criminal complaint with one count of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. He was subsequently released under specified conditions.
Preacher held a full-time supervisory role at the Rhode Island manufacturing facility of the jewelry company since 2018.
While the jewelry company remains unnamed in court documents, a LinkedIn profile belonging to a Benjamin Preacher from North Attleboro identifies him as a lean manufacturing supervisor at Tiffany & Co. in Cumberland, Rhode Island. Tiffany & Co. declined to comment on Preacher’s employment status.
Court records allege that Preacher exploited his position within the company to misappropriate gold, silver, and platinum from the manufacturing facility, subsequently offloading the stolen metals to various businesses across Massachusetts.
According to the release, between March 2020 and March 2023, Preacher purportedly conducted transactions with a metals dealer based in Canton, Massachusetts, averaging one to two sales per month, with proceeds exceeding $1 million.
The alleged illicit sales detailed in court documents encompass a range of precious metals, including $50,521 worth of 18-karat gold in March 2020, $21,821 worth of 18-karat gold, platinum scrap, and sterling silver in April 2021, and $30,939 worth of platinum in January 2022.
Additional allegations suggest Preacher sold over $177,000 worth of stolen precious metals to a separate metals dealer in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, between May 16 and Nov. 16 of the previous year. These transactions purportedly included gold sheets utilized by Preacher’s employer in specific machinery, some of which he allegedly pilfered and sold for approximately $21,000.
The most recent incident, documented on March 1, reportedly captured Preacher on company surveillance cameras absconding with a piece of white gold flat stock valued at approximately $2,200.
During a subsequent search of Preacher’s residence on March 14, authorities purportedly discovered scraps of precious metals.
The charge of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions carries a potential sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or double the laundered funds.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is handling the prosecution of the case.
