Federal prosecutors charged a former Sig Sauer employee, Patrick Goulet of Manchester, New Hampshire, with four counts of wire fraud and one count of dealing in firearms without a license.
Goulet worked as a machinist at Sig Sauer's Exeter facility and had access to a company discount program for purchasing guns and accessories. According to court filings, between August 2021 and June 2024, he allegedly used his discount, and at times the names and identification numbers of coworkers, to obtain several hundred discounted firearms.
Investigators allege that Goulet then resold the guns to buyers across the United States, often arranging sales through social media and accepting electronic payments. He did not hold a federal firearms license, which is required for people who buy and sell guns with the primary intent of earning a profit.
Source: https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2025-11-17/former-sig-sauer-employee-indicted-for-reselling-hundreds-of-guns-bought-with-company-discount
Commentary
In the above matter, an employee allegedly turned a legitimate discount benefit into an unlicensed resale operation. For employers, the case shows how employee discount programs can quietly morph into theft and even regulatory exposure when controls and monitoring do not match the value and risk of discounted goods.
Employee discounts are often treated as low-risk perks, but in industries selling high value or regulated products, they create a ready pipeline for gray market diversion.
In the above matter, prosecutors say the employee was able to buy several hundred firearms for nearly three years, sometimes in coworkers' names, which points to weak identity controls around the discount system, limited transaction monitoring, and a lack of reconciliation between HR records and purchasing activity.
To reduce loss and misuse of employee discounts, management should:
- Define clear discount rules and caps, including resale prohibitions, per employee and per time period
- Tie discount access to unique, multi-factor authenticated accounts that cannot be shared or used on behalf of coworkers
- Monitor discount transactions for volume, frequency, and resale risk indicators, such as repeated high-dollar orders or multiple identical items
- Reconcile discount purchases with HR and payroll data so only active, eligible employees and approved dependents can use the benefit
- Require periodic certifications from employees that they understand discount rules and are not purchasing items for resale or for third parties
- Investigate anomalies jointly through HR, loss prevention, and legal, and preserve evidence needed for potential civil recovery or referral to law enforcement
Even when employee resale does not implicate federal law, it can still violate company policy, erode margins, damage relationships with distributors, and harm brand reputation.
Employers should treat discount abuse as a form of insider theft and include it in fraud risk assessments, training content, and disciplinary frameworks, especially where products are regulated or safety-sensitive.
The final takeaway is that employers should design employee discount programs with the same discipline applied to inventory control and compliance, combining clear rules, technical safeguards, and consistent enforcement to prevent a perk from becoming a theft pipeline.
Additional Sources: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nh/pr/manchester-man-indicted-unlicensed-firearms-dealing-and-defrauding-his-employer https://smokinggun.org/former-sig-sauer-employee-indicted-for-hundreds-of-illegal-gun-sales/
