Gold bars linked to an FBI investigation into Senator Robert Menendez have been traced back to a 2013 robbery involving New Jersey businessman Fred Daibes. Daibes, now accused of bribing Senator Menendez, reported to Edgewater police in 2013 that he was the victim of an armed robbery where $500,000 in cash and 22 gold bars were stolen. The police eventually apprehended four suspects and recovered the stolen items.
NBC News was the first to report this story.
To reclaim his property, Daibes completed “property release forms,” verifying the gold bars’ ownership. He emphasized to investigators in a 2014 transcript that each gold bar had a unique serial number and distinct stamping.
A decade later, in 2023, the FBI discovered that four of these gold bars, each with distinct serial numbers, had come into the possession of Senator Menendez and his wife, Nadine.
During a search of the Menendez residence in Englewood Cliffs, two of these bars were found, while an indictment mentioned that Nadine Menendez had attempted to sell two others, though photos of these bars were recovered.
The serial numbers on the gold bars found in the bribery indictment against Senator Menendez and Daibes match those of the bars reported stolen and returned to Daibes in the 2013 robbery.
A Swiss Bank Corporation gold bar with serial number 590005, seized from Menendez’s home in 2023, was previously reported stolen and returned to Daibes.
His signature and initials were on the evidence log, which detailed each gold bar and its corresponding serial number. This connection forms a critical part of the bribery indictment against Senator Menendez and Daibes.