California robbers steal up to $150M in jewelry from armored vehicle
LOS ANGELES CA July 19 2022 Jewelry and other valuables worth millions were stolen from an armored truck in Southern California.
The Brink’s armored truck was headed for a jewelry show in Pasadena early on the morning of July 11 when it was robbed near the mountain community of Frazier Park and left abandoned, officials say.
It had been loaded the day before following an exhibit near San Francisco.
The FBI office in Lancaster is investigating.
It remains unclear how the robbery unfolded and the status of the Brink’s employees.
“It’s such a tragic situation,” said Arnold Duke, president of the International Gem and Jewelry Show.
Multiple exhibitors had merchandise on the truck and many of them have lost their life savings. Insurance is expected to only cover a fraction of their losses.
There is some conflicting information about the value of the merchandise.
Brink’s says the items were given an estimated value of less than $10 million.
But exhibitors say the value is actually between $100 million to $150 million.
The discrepancy is apparently a commonly known practice.
“They under-insure,” Duke said. “Because the extra insurance is very, very expensive. And because everybody trusts Brink’s a million percent. And they’ve never lost anything of ours. After all these years, people are just very, very comfortable.”
Duke said stolen items include gold jewelry, thousands of diamonds, about 100 Rolex watches and rare gems. Some of the items, like the watches and diamonds, have engraved serial numbers and may be trackable.
The traveling show happens every week at different locations around the country. The Brink’s truck was heading to the Pasadena Convention Center for the July 15-17 show.
Brink’s issued a statement that read in part: “According to the information the customers provided to us before they shipped their items, the total value of the missing items is less than $10 million. We are working with law enforcement, and we will fully reimburse our customers for the value of their assets that were stolen, in accordance with the terms of our contract.”
