NORTH ATTLEBORO - A town resident has been sentenced to 59 days in prison plus home confinement and ordered to forfeit more than $1 million after admitting to charges he stole more than $1.7 million in gold and other precious metals from a jewelry company’s Rhode Island facility where he worked, according to the Massachusetts U.S. attorney’s office.
Our partners at The Sun Chronicle reported in Friday's edition that Benjamin Preacher, 54, of 330 Broadway, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston in June to one count of interstate transportation of stolen goods and one count of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions.
Preacher was sentenced to two years probation, including 10 months of home confinement, following his prison sentence, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Preacher was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and forfeit $1,267,093.
He stole gold, siliver and platinum from the facility where he worked full-time since 2018 as a manufacturing supervisor.
The company makes and sells luxury items, including jewelry made from the precious metals, according to court records.
Although the name of the company was not disclosed by authorities, a LinkedIn page listed in Preacher’s name on March 14, when he was arrested, said he was employed at Tiffany & Co. in Cumberland since 2018 as a third-shift supervisor overseeing and managing production of high-end jewelry.
Precious metals in scrap form were seized in a search of his home when he was arrested, authorities said. The case was investigated by the IRS.
