U.S. prosecutors and federal agents say a luxury Rhode Island jewelry manufacturer was ripped off by a North Attleboro man in their employ who pilfered precious metals from the company and made more than $1 million in sales to Massachusetts metals dealers.
The 54-year-old was arrested Thursday and charged with laundering money from his lawyer, acccording to federal prosecutors, who have withheld the name of the Rhode Island company.
The firm is identified as “Victim Company 1” in court documents filed in U.S. District Court, Boston.
Scraps of platinum, sheets of gold
Over a period of three years, the defendant took gold, silver and platinum from the manufacturer’s stockpiles, court records say.
He is charged with engaging in unlawful monetary transactions. He was released following his appearance in federal court on Friday, according to a news release from the office of acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy.
In one instance, the defendant is accused of selling 18-karat gold, scraps of platinum and sterling in various transactions with a Canton-based metals dealer. The proceeds of the individual sales ranged from nearly $22,000 to about $50,000, prosecutors say.
Last year, the defendant also sold sheets of gold, sized for particular machines at the jewelry manufacturing facility, as well as other precious metals to a West Bridgewater metals dealer for $177,000, prosecutors say.
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Search of North Attleboro home
During a search of his home on Thursday, agents seized precious metal in scrap form.
On March 1, a company surveillance camera captured the employee stealing a flat piece of white gold about an inch in diameter and about as thick as a quarter, prosecutors say, adding that the stolen gold is worth about $2,200.
The case was investigated by a special agent with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
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