Seven men in southern California have been charged in connection with what federal authorities are calling the “largest jewelry heist in US history” after allegedly stealing approximately $100m worth of gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and luxury watches from an armored truck.
The US attorney’s office for California’s central district revealed the charges in a news release on Tuesday.
The heist took place on 10 July 2022, according to the indictment. The suspects scouted an armored Brinks truck leaving an international jewelry show in San Mateo, carrying 73 bags filled with millions of dollars worth of jewelry.
The suspects trailed the truck for about 300 miles, eventually following it to a rest stop in Lebec, north of Los Angeles.
“While the truck was stopped in Lebec, those defendants stole 24 bags from the Brinks truck containing approximately $100 million of jewelry,” the Department of Justice’s release says.
Authorities say that in the days following the theft, several of the suspects deactivated the cellphones they had been using during the heist.
All seven defendants, who are from the Los Angeles area, were indicted last Wednesday and have been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment and theft from interstate and foreign shipment.
Five of the suspects also face additional charges of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and interference with commerce by robbery.
Two of the seven men have already been arrested and scheduled to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday. A third suspect is currently serving a prison sentence in Arizona for an unrelated burglary. He is expected to appear in court soon. The remaining four suspects are seemingly still at large.
Some of the stolen jewelry was recovered during the arrests, according to the justice department.
Authorities have also alleged that several of the suspects are linked to other criminal activities. Prosecutors claim that several members of the group were involved in the theft of about $240,000 worth of Samsung electronics from an interstate cargo shipment in March 2022.
Several of the men are also accused of robbing a box truck driver of about $57,000 worth of Apple AirTags, during which one suspect allegedly brandished a knife and threatened the driver.
And in May 2022, prosecutors say that the defendants reportedly tried to break into a truck at a Fontana rest stop using a crowbar. A short time later, authorities say that the same group stole more than $14,000 worth of Samsung electronics from another interstate shipment in the area.
If convicted as charged, five of the suspects face up to 20 years in federal prison. All seven face up to five years behind bars for the theft conspiracy charge and 10 years in federal prison for each theft charge, according to prosecutors.
