A 54-year-old man who worked as a manufacturing supervisor for a luxury jewelry company was arrested Thursday and accused of stealing precious metals from the company over a period of more than three years and selling the valuable materials to various businesses in Massachusetts, prosecutors announced.
Benjamin Preacher of North Attleboro is facing a single charge of engaging in unlawful monetary transactions and was released on conditions during an arraignment in federal court in Boston Friday, acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua S. Levy said in a statement.
Beginning in 2018, Preacher worked as a supervisor at a Rhode Island manufacturing facility operated by the jewelry company, which makes and sells items made of gold, silver and platinum, the statement said. Prosecutors say Preacher used his position to steal metals from the Rhode Island facility, which he returned to Massachusetts to sell.
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Over the course of three years, beginning in March 2020 and spanning until March 2023, Preacher is accused of selling precious metals to a Canton-based metals dealer once or twice a month, accruing over $1 million in sales to that dealer, Levy’s office said. The sales Preacher is accused of making include $50,521 in 18-carat gold in March 2020; $21,821 in 18-carat gold, “Platinum scrap” and “Sterling” in April 2021; and $30,939 in platinum in January 2022.
Prosecutors also accused Preacher of selling more than $177,000 in stolen materials to another metals dealer in West Bridgewater between May and November 2023. Those sales are said to have included gold sheets used by the company in a “particular machine,” which Preacher is accused of stealing and selling along with other gold scrap, for nearly $21,000, according to the statement.
And, on March 1, 2024, prosecutors say, Preacher was caught on camera stealing a piece of white gold “flat stock,” valued at roughly $2,200, the statement said.
Scraps of precious metals were found during a search of Preacher’s home on Thursday, according to prosecutors.
If he is convicted, Preacher would face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or double the amount of money he is accused of laundering, the statement sid.