Brink's Driver Was Asleep When Millions in Jewels Were Stolen: Suit

Haul from jewelry heist worth somewhere in the millions
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 24, 2022 2:51 AM CDT
Brink's Driver Was Asleep When Millions in Jewels Were Stolen: Suit
This undated photo provided by the FBI shows a jewelry showcase displaying some of the jewelry that was taken during a robbery.   (FBI via AP)

One of the drivers of a Brink’s tractor-trailer was asleep inside the big rig, parked near a remote Southern California rest stop earlier this summer, when thieves broke a lock and stole millions of dollars worth of jewelry and gemstones, according to a lawsuit filed by the security company. While the second driver was getting food inside the rest stop early July 11—spending nearly 30 minutes away from the vehicle—the thieves stole 22 bags of jewelry from the vehicle and fled. The heist nabbed a haul that's been described by some as worth less than $10 million and others as roughly $100 million and the value is now the subject of two lawsuits filed this month, the AP reports. If the latter figure is accurate, it would be one of the largest jewelry thefts in modern history.

But Brink's, in a federal lawsuit filed Aug. 4 in New York, stated that the pickup manifests signed by the jewelers reported a total of $8.7 million worth of merchandise in the 22 stolen bags. The security company’s lawsuit alleges that the jewelers under-declared the value of the items that were being transported and the company is only responsible for the declared value. The items were being sent overnight from a jewelry show in the San Francisco Bay Area down to the Los Angeles region for another event. Brink's is seeking to limit potential payouts to the jewelers, who say their cargo was worth $100 million and that the security company is trying to deny compensation to its customers for a theft "its drivers practically invited to happen.”

Fourteen "mom and pop" jewelers and jewelry companies alleged breach of contract and negligence in a lawsuit filed Monday against Brink’s in Los Angeles County Superior Court. They are seeking $100 million in damages and $100 million in restitution from Brink's. The jewelers allege that a Brink's employee told them to under-value their merchandise on the pickup manifests “in order to save money, because the cost of shipping would be too expensive if they declared the full value of their goods.” In a statement Tuesday, the plaintiffs said, "Everyone in our group has been emotionally and financially destroyed. We are lost and do not know what comes next in our lives. Whatever plans we all have for the future for our businesses and our families has evaporated in an instant.”

(More heist stories.)

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