Related Federal Cases
- LAX Baggage Handler Nabbed in Cocaine Smuggling Ring · Illinois
- Rochester Man Pleads Guilty to Chase Bank Heist · California
- Los Angeles Duo Guilty of $2.7M Instagram Bank Heist · New York
- Sacramento Man Hit with 24-Month Sentence for Mail Truck Heist · New Hampshire
- Wall Street Firms, Financial Malfeasance, New York NY, 2023 · Texas
Gold Bar Heist at LAX Lands Two in Prison
LOS ANGELES – Two cargo handling company employees were caught red-handed in a brazen gold bar heist at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), with two gold bars still missing and a trail of breadcrumbs leading straight to their doorstep.
Marlon Moody, 38, and Brian Benson, 35, both of South Los Angeles, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of an interstate or foreign shipment. The pair worked for Alliance Ground International, a company that provided ground handling services at LAX.
According to their plea agreements, the men stole four gold bars worth approximately $224,000, which were part of a larger shipment headed from Australia to New York. The gold bars, each weighing one kilogram and valued at around $56,000, were being shipped at the direction of a Canadian bank.
The heist unfolded on the evening of April 22, 2020, when a shipment of 2,000 gold bars arrived at LAX on Singapore Airlines. An inventory check revealed that one box containing 25 gold bars was missing. Moody and Benson conspired to steal the gold, with Moody finding the missing box near the Singapore Airlines cargo warehouse and driving it to a nearby location, where he removed four of the bars.
The pair exchanged text messages about the gold bars while in a company van, and later, Moody gave Benson one of the four gold bars in a nearby parking lot. The lost box with the remaining 21 gold bars was discovered by other cargo handlers later that day, leading authorities to launch an investigation that ultimately led to Moody and Benson.
Moody’s family member was even involved in the scheme, exchanging the gold bar for a vehicle and/or money. Moody buried the remaining two gold bars in the backyard of his residence. The FBI recovered all four gold bars about two weeks after they went missing from LAX.
Moody and Benson are scheduled to face sentencing hearings on November 1, at which time they will each face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. The FBI, the Federal Air Marshal Service, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Los Angeles Airport Police investigated this matter, with Assistant United States Attorney Lyndsi C. Allsop of the General Crimes Section prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: White Collar Crime|Organized Crime|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News