Case 4:17-mj-05030-LSS Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/28/2017 Page 1 of 7

AO91(R:v.08/2) Crimi
nilCompl
zint

U NITED STATES D ISTRICT C OURT

for1he
SouthernDistrictcfFlofida

United StatesofAmerica
V.
CaseNo. 17-5030-SNOW
LEW IS BENNEU ,

Defendantts)

CRIM INAL CO MPLAINT

!,tbecomplainantinthiscase,statethatthe follcwing istruetothebestofmy knowledge andbelief.
Onoraboutthedatets)of Ma#1s,..2-0
.
-17- - -inthecountyof Monroe inthe
Seuthern Districtof -
qtcrita
.-
,thedefendantts)violated:
Co#eSection OgenseDescrlption
TranspertinginInterstate and foreigncemmerce anygeodskwares,and
Title 1i,United StatesCode, merchandlse.valued at$5,000 ormore,thatla,gold and sllvercolns,
Section 2314 knowlngthesameto havebeenstolen,converted and takenbyfraud,ln
vielatienofTi
tle 18,UnitedStatesCode,Sedien2314.

Thiscriminalcomplaintisbasedonthesefacts:
SeeattachedAffdavit.

/ ccntinuedontheattachedsheet.

Complainant'
sstknature
JamesKellev.SnecialAcent,FB(
Printed nameandtitle

Sworntobeforem eandsigned lnmy presence,

#
Date: zK /n Judze'
s'/galfle:

Cityandstate: KevW est,Florida

k-qf-
qna S.Snow.united StatesMaolstrateJudne
Printed nameandfpl
e
Case 4:17-mj-05030-LSS Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/28/2017 Page 2 of 7

AFFID A V IT

1,JamesKelley,being duly sworn,deposeand stateasfollows:

lam a SpecialAgentwith the FederalBureau oflnvestigation (FBl)sand have

been since January 2016. 1am currently assigned to theFB1M iam iField OfficeViolentCrimes

and Fugitive Task Force,which targets individuals involved in violent criminal activity and

evasion oflaw enforcem ent.Aspartofm y duties,1investigate a variety ofviolationsoffederal

offenses,including HobbsActrobberies,crimeson the high seas,and otherviolationsoffederal

law .lreceived training on the properinvestigativetechniquesforthese violations,including the

application and execution ofarrestand search w arrants.

The inform ation setforth in this Affdavitcom es from m y personalinvolvement

in this investigation,as well as from inform ation provided to m e by other law enforcem ent

officers.Although 1 am familiar w ith the full breadth of the facts and circum stances of this

investigation,lhave notincluded in the Affidaviteach and every factknown to m e aboutthe

matters set forth herein,butonly those facts and circum stances thatI believe are suffcientto

establish probable cause that Lewis BENNETT knowingly transported, transmitted, and

transferred in interstate and foreign comm erce any goods,wares,and merchandise,valued at

$5,000 ormore,thatis,gold and silvercoins,knowing the same to have been stolen,converted

and taken by fraud,in violation ofTitle 18,United StatesCode,Section 2314.

On oraboutM ay 23,2017,1aw enforcem entbecame awareofcoinsthathad been

stolen from asailing vessel,KITTY R,thatwaslocated in St.M aarten in M ay 2016.During the

course ofthisinvestigation,1aw enforcementcontacted the ownerof KITTY R (hereinafter,

livictim'')regarding the circumstanceoftheburglal'y from hisvesselin St.M aarten on M ay 5,
2016. TheVictim statedthatBEN NETT had been working onboard KITTY R asa crewmem ber
Case 4:17-mj-05030-LSS Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/28/2017 Page 3 of 7

atthattim e.TheVictim confirm ed thatgold and silvercoinsthatwere stored insideplastictubes

had been stolen from KITTY R. TheVictim stated thatthe gold and silvercoinswere stolen by

breaking open the tloor area of the vesselbeneath a palletof food on board KITTY R.The

Victim estimated thatthe value ofthe stolen coins was approxim ately $100,000.00 U SD.The
Victim stated thathe did notfile an insurance claim ,asthese item swere notlisted on the listof

covered item sinhispolicy.

4. The Victim informed 1aw enforcem entthatin M ay of2016,before the theft,he

had b0th gold and silver collectible coins in his possession. The Victim provided law

enforcem entwith a reeeiptfora portion ofthe gold and silvercoinsthathehad purchased. On

oraboutSeptember 1,2015,the Victim had purchased a totalof617 collectible silverand gold

coinsforf31,630.50,which isapproxim ately $40,490.20 USD.

On or about M ay 8, 2016, BEN NETT tlled a police report in St. M aarten

concerning the gold and silver coins stolen from the Victim on board KITTY R. Law

enforcem entobtained a copy ofthatpolice report,which statesin sum m ary thatthe KITTY R,

owned by the Victim ,was burglarized sometim e late at night on M ay 5,2016,or the early

m orning hoursofM ay 6,2016,while BEN NETT and theV ictim were noton the vessel. Am ong

the item sBENNETT,on behalfoftheVictim ,reported stolenweretgold and silvercoins.''

On or about M ay 10, 2016, approximately tive (5) days aft

er the burglary,
BENNETT leftSt.M aarten viaaim laneto M iamilnternationalAirport.

ln the early morning ofMay 15,2017,the United StatesCoastGuard (USCG)

received an Emergency Position-lndicating Radio Beacon (E-PIRB) and Personal Locator
Beacon (PLB)activation approximately 26 nauticalmileswestofCay SalBank,Bahamas,in
international waters. BENNETT,a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Australia,also
Case 4:17-mj-05030-LSS Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/28/2017 Page 4 of 7

dialed and received severalcalls,including to theUSCG,reporting hewasin distressin the same

generallocation around thesametim e.

8, BENNETT reported to theU SCG thathehad been on board an approximately 40-

footcatamaran (hereinafter the 'lvessel'') with his wife,I.H.,sailing from Havana,Cuba to

Florida. BENNETT stated thathe had retired to the cabin to sleep on the evening ofM ay 14,

20l7,leaving I.H.to operate the Vesselatthehelm .BENNETT stated thathe awoke to a loud

thud atapproximately 1:00 a.m .on M ay 15,2017,and noticed the Vesselwastaking on water.
BENNETT reportedthathem oved topsideto look forI.H.who wasnotatthehelm,oranywhere

on the boat.BENNETT stated he moved to address the sail,engage the engines,and getthe

Vesselunderway. BENNETT indicated he wasunableto slow the flow ofwater,so he gathered

hispersonalbelongings,deployed hisliferaftand abandoned ship.

9. A USCG helicopterultim ately rescued BEI
NNETT in internationalwatersshortly

after 3:00 a.m ,on M ay 15,2017,and landed in an airportin M arathon,Florida. USCG later

retrieved BEI
NNETT'Sliferaftand noticed BENNETT secured anum berofpersonalitemsin his

life raft,including a suitcase and two backpacks.BENNETT chose to only take one backpack

with him atthetim ehe wasrescued by theUSCG rescue swim mer. TheUSCG rescue swim mer

stated thathisbackpack wasunusually heavy.

During the search efforts,U SCG recovered and transported the Vessel's life raft

and contentsto USCG Station Key W est,Florida,aniving on or aboutM ay 19,2017. Priorto

being received by the FBI,these item swere inventoried in accordance with USCG policy.The

item s found included, among other item s:a suitcase;one backpack;un-expended parachute

flares;buoys;fourteen (14)gallonsofwater;a secondary EPIRB;and nine (9)plastic tubes,

3
Case 4:17-mj-05030-LSS Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/28/2017 Page 5 of 7

wrapped with cleartape containing whatappear to be silver coins.Upon initialcollection,the

USCG placedthesetubesintothree(3)separatesealedevidencebags.
11. W hen rescued,BEN NETT carried one backpack with him ,the contentsofwhich

were notsearched by the USCG.Thecollectiblecoinsthatwererecovered from thelife raft,158

English lkYearofthe Horse''silvercoinsand 77 Canadian M apleLeafcoins,only accountfora

portion ofthe totalam ountofthe coins stolen. The estimated value ofthese collectible coins

based on the Victim 's recordsand open source databases is approximately $4,200 USD. After
he was rescued,BENNETT returned to his Residence with the backpack before eventually

leavingthe country.
On or aboutM ay 23,2017,1aw enforcem ent briefly returned these collectible

coinsto BENNETT athisresidencein theUnited States,located at13850 OneidaDrive,Delray

Beach,Florida (hereinafter,the k'Residence'')before they realized,on the same day,thatthey

may have been stolen in 20l6. Later on M ay 23, 20l7, law enforcement returned to

BENNETT'SResidence in Delray Bcach,Florida,to retrievethe collectible coinsthatwere still

in sealed evidence bags. BENNETT agreed to return the itemsto law enforcement.

13. A review oftravelrecordsby law enforcem entrevealed thatafterthe theftofthe

collectible coinsfrom KITTY R on oraboutM ay 5,2016 and BENNETT'Sreturn to the United

States on M ay 10,2016,BENNETT traveled from FortLauderdale InternationalAirportto St.

M aarten on oraboutM arch 18,2017,via airplane. The records also revealed thatBENNETT

returned to FortLauderdaleInternationalAip ortfrom St.M aarten on oraboutApril8,20l7,via

A review oftraveland foreign records by 1aw enforcementrevealed thatBENNETT

airplane.
and I.H.flew from FortLauderdale lnternationalAirpol-
tto St.M aarten on oraboutApril29,

4
Case 4:17-mj-05030-LSS Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/28/2017 Page 6 of 7

2017.The records also revealed thaton oraboutM ay 14,2017,BEN NETT and I.H .leftCuba

viasailing vessel.
14. Law enforcem entofficerssentthe Victim imagesofthe coinsand tubesrecovered

from the belongingsBENNETT took with him from the Vesselonto the life rah via electronic

mail.Afterviewing these im ages,the Victim stated the coins and tubes pictured in the imagts

werepartofa1loftheitemsstolen from KITTY R.

15. On June 16,2017,theFBI,along with mem bersofthe United StatesCoastGuard

lnvestigativeServices(CG1S),executedasearchwarrantatBENNETT'SResidence.
Search team m embers located two different types of gold coins in the master

bedroom closet of BENNETT'S Residence.The coins were contained within a softcase and

hidden in apairofboatshocs.A totalof162 gold coinswere recovered.

17. The gold coinsthatwere recovered from the search of BEN NETT'S Residence

werephotographed and subsequently shown to the Victim forreview.TheVictim confirm ed the

coinspictured were coinsthatwere stolen from theKITTY R in M ay of2016. The valueofthe

coinsbased on theVictim 'srecordsand open sourcedatabasesisapproximately $26,100 USD.

18. Based on the foregoing facts,lrespectfully subm itthatthere isprobable causeto

believe thatLewis BEN NETT knowingly transported,transmitted,and transferred in interstate

and foreign comm erceany goods,wares,and m erchandise,valued at$5,000 orm ore,thatis,

$
Case 4:17-mj-05030-LSS Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/28/2017 Page 7 of 7

gold and silvercoins.knowing the same to have been stolen,converted and taken by fraud,in

violation QfThlcl@,United StatesCode,Section2314.

FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH N AUGHT.

>
1 E LEY
S E AL AGENT
FB ERAL BUREAU OF W V ESTIGA TION

Swom and subscribed to btfore m e

thi ' day ofAugust,2017.

L RANA S.SNOW
UNITED STATES M AG ISTRATE JUDGE