Carlos Victor Mestanza Cercado acknowledged participating in the $100 million Brink’s jewelry heist in a newly filed federal plea agreement. The Nov. 9 filing details how conspirators followed a semitruck approximately 300 miles before stealing its cargo. The group broke trailer locks and removed 24 bags containing valuable merchandise. Mestanza also admitted involvement in several earlier electronics thefts targeting commercial shipments across Southern California.
The theft occurred July 11, 2022, after a jewelry exhibition in San Mateo, California. Federal court records show the Brink’s vehicle carried 73 bags of merchandise from the international event. Conspirators tracked the shipment through multiple locations before reaching Lebec, north of Los Angeles. The theft followed several days of surveillance targeting high-value freight leaving the exhibition.
Mestanza signed the agreement Nov. 4, and federal prosecutors finalized the document five days later. He agreed to plead guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery. That charge concerns a separate March 2022 robbery involving Apple AirTags, rather than the Brink’s shipment. Prosecutors agreed to seek dismissal of his remaining charges at sentencing.
How thieves tracked the Brink’s shipment
The operation began before the truck departed San Mateo, according to the agreed statement of facts. A conspirator scouted the international jewelry show July 8, 9 and 10, 2022. That individual communicated with Mestanza and other participants about stealing merchandise after the exhibition. By July 10, the group had focused its attention on the Brink’s semitruck.
During the overnight hours, participants coordinated their movements through telephone communications. They followed the commercial vehicle from San Mateo toward Buttonwillow and Lebec in Kern County. The indictment also describes conspirators serving as lookouts while accomplices entered targeted trucks. Conspirators eventually breached the trailer’s locks and escaped with the jewelry.
The thieves transported the stolen jewelry to East Hollywood after leaving Lebec. Participants later deactivated cellphone numbers they had used during the operation. Federal court records identify that action as an attempt to conceal their identities. Those communications form part of Mestanza’s admissions concerning the July 2022 theft.
Earlier cargo thefts reveal coordinated tactics
The agreement also describes three earlier incidents involving Samsung electronics and Apple tracking devices. On March 2, 2022, conspirators followed a commercial truck carrying Samsung products through Ontario, California. When its driver stopped at a 7-Eleven, participants approached with a fabricated request for translation assistance. Others removed electronics while the distraction continued, causing losses victims valued at approximately $240,573.
Nine days later, the group targeted a box truck transporting Apple AirTags from China to a Fontana warehouse. Participants monitored the driver during a restaurant stop before attempting to remove merchandise. Mestanza drove the van intended to carry the stolen products, according to his admissions. When the driver discovered the theft, a conspirator confronted him while holding a small knife. The indictment quotes the threat: “Don’t move, or I will f____ you up!”
The victim feared for his safety and declined to intervene. Conspirators escaped with approximately $57,377 in Apple AirTags, according to the agreement. Mestanza also maintained an 87-minute telephone conversation with another participant to coordinate information about the driver’s movements.
On May 25, 2022, participants approached a semitruck at a Pilot Flying J location in Fontana. One conspirator used a crowbar to force entry before the group fled. Later that day, they targeted another commercial vehicle awaiting unloading elsewhere in the city. The thieves removed Samsung electronics worth about $14,000 after cutting plastic surrounding the boxes.
Plea agreement raises $100 million restitution dispute
Mestanza faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison under the proposed guilty plea. Prosecutors have agreed to seek dismissal of his remaining indictment counts at sentencing. The court may still consider conduct underlying those charges when determining punishment. A change-of-plea hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19 before U.S. District Judge Kenly Kiya Kato.
The agreement identifies a substantial disagreement over restitution connected to the stolen jewelry. Prosecutors currently estimate the applicable amount at no less than $100,312,031.54. Mestanza’s defense contends certain victims declared less than $10 million under their Brink’s transportation contracts. Federal attorneys dispute whether those declarations limit restitution for the actual losses.
The valuation dispute dates to August 2022, when Brink’s sued affected jewelers in federal court. The company identified $8.7 million in combined declared shipment values and sought to limit its contractual liability. Jewelers maintained that their stolen merchandise carried substantially higher values and challenged the company’s responsibility for the losses. The dispute highlights differences between declared cargo values, claimed merchandise losses and potential criminal restitution.
The defendant also acknowledged actions following the public announcement of his indictment in June 2025. He searched online for information about wanted individuals, Interpol and international travel routes. Investigators documented messages concerning a major robbery and crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Authorities detained Mestanza July 1, 2025, during a Panama City airport layover between Guatemala and Ecuador.
The June 2025 federal indictment charged seven defendants in the cargo theft operation. Three others, Jazael Padilla Resto, Pablo Raul Lugo Larroig and Jorge Enrique Alban, face trial in March 2027. Authorities continue seeking Victor Hugo Valencia Solorzano and Eduardo Macias Ibarra, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Immigration officials deported Jeson Nelon Presilla Flores to Ecuador in December 2025, although prosecutors still seek his trial.
Federal authorities recovered some stolen jewelry during searches in June 2025. However, the plea agreement does not establish the total value of recovered merchandise. The final restitution amount and potential prison sentence also remain unresolved. Mestanza must still appear before the court to formally enter his guilty plea.
Why it matters
The Brink’s theft highlights the financial exposure created when declared cargo values differ significantly from claimed merchandise losses. Brokers, carriers and shippers must understand contractual liability limits while strengthening shipment security and driver verification procedures.
Click here for more articles on cargo theft and freight fraud by Phil Brink.
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