NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- A longtime employee and vault manager for a jewelry company in Long Island City , New York , stole millions of dollars worth of gold and gold jewelry from her employer over a six-year span , the Queens district attorney has alleged . Teresa Tambunting , 50 , of Scarsdale , New York , is accused of stealing as much as $ 12 million from Jacmel Jewelry , Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement Wednesday . At an arraignment Wednesday , she did not enter a plea to charges of first-degree grand larceny and first-degree criminal possession of stolen property , the district attorney 's office said . She was released on $ 100,000 bail and will return to court May 19 , the office said . Her attorney , David Kirby , did not return phone calls seeking comment . Tambunting , who worked for Jacmel for 28 years , has returned about $ 7 million worth of gold , but $ 4 million remains missing , according to Brown . `` 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 , '' Brown said . Police say Tambunting -- whose job responsibilities involved monitoring the vault in which fine gold , finished products and raw materials were stored -- confessed that for several months last year , she hid gold in makeshift slits in her purse . An inventory in January revealed that as much as $ 12 million in merchandise was missing , Brown said in the written statement . After an investigation , Tambunting arrived at the jewelry company 's offices wheeling a suitcase containing about 66 pounds of gold , an estimated $ 868,000 , the district attorney 's office said . In February , about 450 pounds of gold was taken from her residence , the office said . Tambunting became vault manager in 1991 , the office said . The dates of the alleged thefts were not immediately clear . The value of the gold returned fluctuates because of the rise and fall of gold prices . However , the charges are based on what Jacmel claims it lost : $ 3 to $ 12 million , according to the Queens district attorney . Jewelry manufacturer owners often find themselves in precarious circumstances when protecting their companies from thievery , said Benjamin Mark , who owned a jewelry manufacturing company in New York for 20 years . `` Unless you have metal detectors where every single employee removes their shoes and belts , you ca n't be certain , '' said Mark , who now operates a one-man business . `` Stealing jewelry is relatively simple . '' Jacmel Jewelry is one of the country 's largest manufacturers and distributors of popular price jewelry , according to its Web site . It employs more than 1,000 people worldwide , according to its president , Jack Rahmey . Rahmey said he is cooperating with authorities . Tambunting faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted .
Vault manager worked for Jacmel Jewelry for 28 years . Authorities say she confessed to hiding gold in her purse . District attorney says she 's returned about $ 7 million in gold . She could get 25 years in prison if convicted .