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Jacmel employee charged in $12 million theft

May 01, 2009

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Kew Gardens, N.Y.--A longtime employee of New York-based jewelry manufacturer Jacmel Jewelry has been charged with stealing as much as $12 million in gold merchandise over a six-year period by concealing gold from the company's vault in the lining of her pocketbook, authorities said.

Teresa Tambunting, 50, of Scarsdale, N.Y., was arraigned on April 28 on charges of first-degree grand larceny and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property, according to a press release from the Queens County District Attorney's office in New York. She was released on $100,000 bail and ordered to return to court on May 19. If convicted, she could spend as much as 25 years in prison.

Tambunting was employed by Jacmel Jewelry, a manufacturer and distributor of popular price point fine jewelry and located at 30-30 47th Ave. in Long Island City, Queens, for approximately 28 years.

In 1991, Tambunting was given the position of vault manager, where one of her responsibilities was to monitor the vault in which fine gold, finished products and raw materials were stored, prosecutors said.

During a physical inventory conducted at Jacmel in January 2009, it is alleged that as much as $12 million worth of merchandise was unaccounted for, the release states.

After an investigation was initiated, Tambunting arrived at Jacmel's offices wheeling a suitcase containing approximately 66 pounds of fine gold with an estimated value of $868,000.

In statements allegedly made to detectives assigned to the District Attorney's office, Tambunting said that she had taken fine gold over several months during the previous year by concealing it in a slit in the lining of her pocketbook, according to the release.

"With gold trading at nearly $900 an ounce, the defendant is accused of establishing a virtual mining operation in Long Island City which siphoned off millions of dollars' worth of the precious metal from her employer," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in the release.

On Feb. 13, 2009, an additional quantity of gold with a total net weight of approximately 447.8 pounds was recovered from Tambunting's residence, the release states.

The thefts are alleged to have occurred between January 1, 2004, and April 28, 2009.
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