A Michigan jeweler is announced guilty by the prosecutors in the federal court and said that the offender is found guilty of laundering more than $1.5 million for drug traffickers in under-the-table deals in which he accepted cash for pricey watches and jewelry.

Gary Yee, 33 from West Bloomfield Michigan operated Golden Sun Jewelry for eight years in the Advance Building in Southfield, Mich., pleaded guilty pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and agreed to the fine of $1 million.

In a release in press from the U.S. Department of Justice from the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit said, "[Court] records reveal that Gary Yee laundered more than $1.5 million in cash for narcotics traffickers, including a list of the most notorious dealers in the Detroit area, as well as criminals from as far away as Arizona."

In the press release, Yee’s criminal clients sought out Golden Sun Jewelers, where they bought items such as pricey diamond-encrusted watches for as much as $80,000 in cash. Yee had a reputation of not filing any necessary documents, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 8300, Cash Received in a Trade or Business. Retailers are meant to use these forms to report any cash transaction which involved money more than $10,000.

A sting operation was conduction in the early months of 2008 where Yee got arrested when undercover federal agents from the IRS criminal investigation division and the Drug Enforcement Administration, posed as marijuana dealers and made two separate purchases in cash one of $32,000 watch and a $40,000 watch from Yee in the back offices of Golden Sun Jewelers, the release said.

In both instances it was reported that Yee accepted the cash payments of over $10,000 while assuring the undercover agents that "no paperwork" would be filed, prosecutors said. A subsequent search of records showed that Golden Sun Jewelers failed to file the required IRS Form 8300s for the cash purchases of the watches.

"Defendants who deal in high-end goods like expensive jewelry, luxury cars, or real estate are prohibited by federal money laundering laws from shrouding the ill-gotten gains of narcotics dealers. Through aggressive prosecution, my office will continue to try to disrupt narcotics dealing profits by following dirty money wherever it leads and prosecuting those who traffic in it," U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg said in the release. Yee is set for sentencing on Oct. 29, at 2 p.m.

The Atlantic hurricane season being around the corner, the Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co. is offering retailers a free Hurricane Preparedness Guide.

The guide can be downloaded from the Jewelers Mutual’s official Website, JewelersMutual.com. The handbook is a concise and an easy-to-understand manual which will help the retail jewelers with a complete business-continuity plan in the event of different types of natural disasters.

It is out of the personal experience that made the Jewelers Mutual come up with this idea. They say that its staff members and adjusters were on hand last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav and Ike as soon as entry was permitted to quickly handle claims and questions.

"Our claims team was in Louisiana within hours of Hurricane Gustav's landfall, personally visiting 125 of our policyholders. Baton Rouge and the surrounding areas were hit the hardest, but our policyholders were well prepared for this storm because they took precautions to heart, and many had disaster plans in place." Jewelers Mutual Claim Manager Don Elliott said in a media release.

Jewelers Mutual is a well know name and the largest specialty insurer for jewelry and jewelers in the United States and Canada. The staff at JM claims section assists the policyholders in filing claims and provides recommendations to protect the property from addition damages.

If you want to know more about Jewelers Mutual or want to download the handbook then the organization’s Website is JewelersMutual.com.