MIAMI — A 40-year-old man who allegedly stole nearly $40,000 worth of gold and silver coins pleaded guilty to the coin caper Thursday in federal court and he will face 10 years in prison at sentencing next year.
Lewis Bennett — who has dual citizenship in England and Australia with a home in Delray Beach — was charged in August amid allegations he stole thousands of dollars in gold and silver coins while working as a mate aboard the Kitty R sailboat in St. Maarten in May 2016.
His sentencing was scheduled for Feb. 12 at the federal courthouse in Key West on Simonton Street before Senior U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King.
That arrest came after his May 15 Coast Guard rescue off Cay Sal, Bahamas in which his wife, Isabella Hellman, 41, also of Delray Beach, went missing. She has yet to be found.
Bennett has not been charged with a crime regarding Hellman’s disappearance.
Neither the FBI nor the Coast Guard has said whether it suspects foul play.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
If you have information that could help solve a crime in the Florida Keys, call Crime Stoppers, 800-346-TIPS.