Farmington silver thief gets 21 months in prison

By James Walsh, Star Tribune

Last update: September 14, 2007 - 8:53 PM

A Farmington man who admitted to stealing nearly $500,000 in pure silver to feed his gambling habit was sentenced to nearly two years in prison on Friday.

Jaydn E. J. Sessing, 31, was sentenced to 21 months in prison by Ramsey County District Judge Michael Fetsch and ordered to pay $531,531 in restitution. He pleaded guilty in July to six counts of felony theft after stealing the silver from Cooperative Plating Co. of St. Paul, where he was an assistant day manager. Technically, he was sentenced to 21 months for the sixth theft count, with decreasing sentences for the other five counts. He will serve those sentences concurrently.

Sessing sold the silver at West St. Paul Silver and Gold Exchange between 2004 and 2007, which provided invoices to investigators. Over the years, he pilfered small amounts of penny-size nuggets of 99.9 percent pure silver. His employer discovered the losses almost immediately, but initially blamed the missing silver on faulty equipment.

But Sessing's last two thefts were more ambitious, police said. He took 28 pounds of silver in January 2007 and 138 pounds in March 2007. In at least one of the thefts, Sessing had turned off video surveillance equipment.

Sessing admitted to the thefts after police began questioning members of his family. He had casino losses of $900,000 and had bought a house halfway between casinos in Red Wing and Shakopee.

James Walsh • 651-298-1541

James Walsh • jwalsh@startribune.com

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