Seven men from Southern California have been charged with stealing approximately $100 million worth of jewelry from a Brinks truck at a rest stop in Lebec in July 2022. The U.S. Department of Justice announced the charges on Tuesday, marking the incident as the largest jewelry heist in U.S. history.
The suspects allegedly followed the Brinks truck for 300 miles from an international jewelry show in San Mateo to the rest stop in Lebec, where they stole 24 bags containing gold, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and luxury watches. The heist was executed without any witnesses or injuries, as reported by The Guardian.
The suspects face multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit theft from interstate and foreign shipment. Five of them also face charges of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in federal prison for the robbery charges, and up to 10 years for each theft charge, according to LocalSYR.
Authorities have linked the suspects to other criminal activities, including the theft of $240,000 worth of Samsung electronics and $57,000 worth of Apple AirTags. Some stolen jewelry was recovered during recent arrests, but less than half of the total amount has been found. The investigation is ongoing as authorities continue to search for the remaining suspects and stolen items, as detailed by USA TODAY.
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