MIAMI – A federal grand jury indicted two men and a woman accused of robbing salespeople in a number of South Florida cities out of millions of dollars’ worth of gems, jewelry and property, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Allan Lucas, 30, of Miami, Colombian national Diana Grisales Basto, 37, and Carlos Morales, 44, of Miami, collectively face a number of charges under the Hobbs Act.
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The Hobbs Act is a federal law dating back to 1946 that criminalizes those who obstruct, delay or affect “commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce” by committing, attempting or conspiring to commit robbery or extortion.
Federal prosecutors allege the trio robbed jewelry salespeople in Boca Raton, Miami Beach, Lake Worth, Boynton Beach and Fort Pierce between September 2019 and December of 2020.
Lucas and Grisales Basto were already in state custody and scheduled to make initial appearances in federal court on July 8. Police arrested Morales on July 2, prosecutors said.
Each could face decades in prison.
Officials said the FBI’s Tampa division led the investigation, with assistance from local law enforcement agencies in the affected areas.