COTA watch-theft ring busted after victim spots the same scam — Richard Mille once again the prize
A slick crew allegedly targeting high-end watches at the United States Grand Prix ran out of luck in Austin after a victim clocked the exact same scam 24 hours later and raised the alarm.
Austin Police say two Richard Mille timepieces were ripped off fans near Circuit of the Americas over the race weekend, both taken in a staged “fall” that lured passers-by into helping before accomplices moved in. One victim told officers a woman went down in front of him, he stopped to help and was then assaulted by a group who vanished with his watch.
“He’s fortunate that he wasn’t seriously injured or even killed,” former federal agent and private investigator Mark Gillespie told local outlet KXAN. “They are like pack animals. They work in a group, they work as a team. It is a very well‑orchestrated and highly skilled execution.”
The next day, back at the track, the same victim spotted the woman allegedly running the identical play on someone else. He shouted a warning, the bystander grabbed hold, and police detained her. A subsequent search warrant led officers to a rental in Lago Vista, where more suspects were taken into custody.
According to Travis County court documents cited by KXAN, “The group targeted wealthy individuals that were wearing high-end luxury watches. These specific watches retail for hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
If it feels like Richard Mille is always in the headline when a watch goes missing around F1, that’s because it often is. The brand’s oversized, skeletonised pieces are catnip for collectors — and, unfortunately, thieves. And while paddock security is tight, the edges of a grand prix weekend are where the opportunists lurk.
It’s not the first time F1’s orbit has been caught in this kind of story:
– Lando Norris was put in a headlock and relieved of his RM 67-02 after the Euro 2020 final at Wembley. In a statement later disclosed in court, Norris said one man dragged him backwards while another yanked the watch from his wrist, leaving scratches. After a week-long trial, a jury acquitted the defendant who stood accused of the theft.
– Charles Leclerc had his Richard Mille — widely reported at around $2.8 million — stolen in Viareggio in 2022 after being approached by a group who fled on a scooter and in a rented SUV. CCTV did the work; convictions followed.
– Carlos Sainz was targeted in Milan in 2023. That one didn’t go to plan for the thieves: Sainz, his bodyguard and a handful of good citizens chased them down and handed them to police. The Spaniard was applauded back to his hotel still wearing the borrowed cape.
And, in a twist only this sport could produce, Bernie Ecclestone turned his own 2010 mugging — a stolen Hublot and a black eye — into an ad. He sent a bruised portrait to the brand with a note: “See what people will do for a Hublot.” The campaign, as you might remember, wrote itself.
The COTA arrests underscore a point security professionals have been making for years: big events draw big targets. The “help me” fall is an old theatre trick dressed up for modern day; it exploits basic decency and the blink of time it takes to unlatch a clasp.
None of this is to suggest fans should stop wearing what they love to a grand prix. But if you’re bringing a six-figure watch to an event that packs 100,000 people into the same space, maybe think like a strategist: reduce the risk, choose your routes, don’t advertise on the walk back to the car park. The thieves are doing their homework. So should everyone else.
As for the latest Austin case, the legal process will run its course. For now, it’s a rare result in a long list of high-profile losses: a victim who saw through the act the second time around, a crowd that backed him up, and a police trail that didn’t go cold. In a city that loves its live music and late nights, that’s a beat worth keeping.
