In most cases, it is the thief who goes after the objects, but in the rather unique case of a Qatari royal, his gullible personal assistant, and a psychic, the jewels, nearly $100 million worth of them, literally traveled across continents to the thief. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind case in a world where jewelry heists happen every other day. The jewels belonged to Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, universally known as HBJ, Qatar’s former prime minister. The royal who owns the magnificent superyacht Al Mirqab is known to be fiercely loyal himself and to have a small cadre of trusted aides who remained with him for decades across both his governmental roles and personal business empire. Still, it was one of them, his personal assistant, Magdalena, who trusted a Florida-based psychic and gave away almost $100 million in jewelry in need of an “aura cleanse.”
No, the jewels did not belong to her and were not hers for the taking, and she eventually received a 10-year sentence in Qatar, reported Vice. But it is truly mesmerizing to learn about the workings of the human mind, especially how years of manipulation can make the extraordinary seem believable. Florida resident John Lee exploited that trust, posing as a psychic on the online psychic platform Purple Garden in 2019. The adviser operated as “1111Giovanni1111” and became a trusted confidant for a lengthy period of three years before the jewelry even surfaced in the story. Clearly, there was enough time dedicated to building trust, after which Lee convinced Magdalena that her jewelry was carrying bad energy.
Without batting an eyelid, this eager assistant sent her jewels to him, oceans away, for an aura cleanse. What is interesting here is that Lee, seemingly in pursuit of the much bigger prize, sent the assistant’s own jewelry swimming back to Qatar in the ultimate trust-building maneuver. Her negative feelings didn’t go anywhere, but HBJ’s jewels did, because Lee next convinced her that her boss’s collection had also been infected and needed cleansing.
The collection wasn’t placed on a platter in his room, as one could envision of royal life, but tucked away safely inside a camera-protected palace vault in Doha. The assistant was so thoroughly convinced of the need to rid herself of this supposed negativity that she even believed Lee could cast a spell making her invisible to the surveillance cameras. In reality, the cameras worked perfectly, they recorded her entering the vault for roughly ten minutes on June 12, 2022.
The humongous, glittering haul of nearly $100 million was not sent in one go. At least one documented package weighed just 0.5 kg, or roughly 1.1 pounds, and cost only $92 to send from Doha to Davenport, Florida. What is even more mind-boggling than the sheer guts and gullibility involved is how casually some of these precious possessions traveled; that first documented package was dispatched uninsured, required no signature, and was addressed to John Lee himself. Over the following weeks, more packages followed, carrying increasingly valuable pieces.
A $100 million haul is no joke even for a royal worth billions, but it is also the betrayal that has got to hurt. The goods that were shipped like everyday objects included a $31 million, 20.45-carat internally flawless natural Fancy Vivid pink diamond, a $22.1 million necklace centered on a 103.86-carat D-color, internally flawless cushion-cut diamond, a 41-carat Burmese sapphire ring, and a necklace carrying approximately 75 carats of intense yellow and white diamonds, among other exquisite pieces by Van Cleef & Arpels, Graff, as well as a Royal Diamond Genève ladies’ watch.
The psychology of the scam is perhaps even more astonishing; while she packed these jewels for Lee, she actually put checks into the FedEx packages alongside them. She gave Lee as much as $150,000 for psychic services over several years. And for the “special” HBJ jewelry cleansings, Lee allegedly increased his price to more than $50,000 per shipment, which the assistant actually paid. What happened next was disastrous for the assistant, her trust and faith in her confidant, and her relationship with the regal employer. Lee refused to mail the jewels back, citing customs concerns, and promised to meet the assistant in Cannes, where he never appeared. Magdalena had no choice but to confess her blunder to HBJ and his security team.
The criminal landed in jail, and the 40 jewelry pieces were recovered in a wide-ranging investigation led by the FBI. The FBI has seized most of the remaining cash and jewels and is working to locate other diamonds that may have been sold or recut. As for the master planner, Lee, he was given 17 years in the U.S.; that sentence was vacated in January 2026 and sent back for resentencing, although his convictions remained intact.