TSA Steals $100K in Bling
 

http://nypost.com/2015/11/01/tsa-sto...-from-luggage/
A Manhattan couple claims TSA agents at JFK Airport lifted more than $95,000 worth of rings from their luggage.

Natalie and Michael Hekmat were booked on a February flight to Los Angeles when they checked their locked luggage with JetBlue at the curb, according to their lawsuit.

Inside her suitcase, Natalie Hekmat had packed nine rings into a brown suede jewelry roll, including an $80,000 2.10-carat diamond ring and several others from the Italian company Pomellato, including a $3,050 ring with brown diamonds; a $2,800 ring with black diamonds; and a $2,350 amethyst ring.

“Upon arrival at LAX, [they] immediately inspected their luggage,” according to court papers, and “found that the jewelry roll had been opened and all the property . . . was missing from the roll. The roll was not taken.”

Who puts that kind of stuff into checked luggage???!!! W:confused:w.

If the first thing they did when they retrieved their checked bag was to look for the (missing) jewellery they clearly knew that checking it bore some amount of theft risk. That's not said to condone theft in any way -- it's just common sense.

It certainly could have been TSA, but it's also entirely possible that this was airline baggage handlers, or it could be a scam. According to the complaint, they're suing both TSA and JetBlue.

Headline should really read "Flyer Claims TSA or JetBlue Stole $100k in Bling."

If this is real, I'd be more inclined to fault TSA or TSA working with the baggage handlers.

TSA has the edge on the baggage handlers: TSOs have xray vision and no one questions a TSO riflling an open bag. Baggage handlers have no way of knowing in advance what's in a bag or how it might be concealed and people are going to ask questions if a baggage handler is seen with an opened bag.

Prudent travelers are advised to check luggage immediately for signs of theft or damage.

Prudent travelers don't put expensive, easily pilfered items in checked baggage.

And professional TSOs and baggage handlers don't steal from people's bags, checked or carry-on.

In the real world, TSOs and baggage handlers steal, largely with impunity, and naive travelers are too trusting.

It's still illegal to steal. It is not yet illegal to be naive or uninformed.

If this is not a scam or an insurance fraud scheme, I wouldn't call these travelers naive or trusting. They're just plain stupid. STU. PID.

Outside of politics, however, people that dense are pretty rare, so I think there's a good chance that this is a scam or fraud. They probably aren't expecting anything from the gubment, but are instead trying to perpetrate an insurance fraud by claiming $95 in theft. The missing bling either never existed, or has been sold by the owners themselves.

There's no way they could ever pin this on TSA clerks. If this is real, it will get caught up in the mutual finger-pointing between the airline and the TSA. Now, if the couple could produce the TSA baggage notice, that would be a different story. But, I can't imagine a TSA clerk or clerks stealing this stuff would ever put a baggage inspection notice inside anyway.

My five-minute analysis says insurance fraud. They would have to let the TSA and airline "investigations" finish, file claims with each that would be rejected, and then file an insurance claim (real or fraud). If they were looking for easy or fast money, it's not going to happen.

It does sound sketchy to me, as well, but I wonder why, if it was a scam, they'd take the step of actually _suing_ B6 and the TSA.

It strikes me as very shady.

They live in a 600 sq foot co-op in Nolita valued at somewhere between $600k and $800K, but were traveling with jewelry worth >10% of what is presumably their biggest asset. They hire a lawyer from a small firm in Poughkeepsie. He (plaintiff, not lawyer) apparently works as an assistant to important people on films. None of this sounds like a couple that would be traveling with such a substantial amount of jewelry.

There is contradictory advice given about valuables.

The TSA can arbitrarily stop items in a carry-on bag, and items have been stolen by TSA clerks during screening. When that happens. it's the traveler's fault for not putting the items in checked luggage. With no recourse or appeal.

I had a TSA screener that tried to steal a small pouch of jewelry from my wifes purse just as it exited xray. Had I not looked at just the right moment it would have been gone so I recognize the issues with valuables in both hand carried and checked luggage.

Checked luggage remains at the most risk. Not lock with any kind of a real lock, out of sight, TSA x-ray vision, and no custody control makes checked luggage an easy target.

I wouldn't be surprised if TSA screeners who operate the baggage x-ray systems don't have a means to put a marker on a bag with desired items so the baggage handlers will know which ones to target.

Given the proven track record of thieves in airports of TSA, airline, and contract employees everyone should be very careful with anything of value.

Even more amazing is that to the best of my knowledge not once has a TSA BDO identified an airport employee of any type of doing something questionable.

Must be a exceptional skill where they can focus only on suspect passengers and never an insider.

I have never heard or seen any creditable advise or recommendation that valuables ought to be put in checked luggage. That's just insane. Sure I suppose there is a risk at a security check point but compared to the other risk factors of putting valuables in checked luggage that's a relatively minimal risk.

Nice cost of living in Manhattan there. :)

Precisely!! They always steal it for a many times. This must stop!! They won't change the behaviors. They could be arrested. They will hauled him to the jails. They could be fired for that. They will never get a job at airports.