PSA heist timeline: the FedEx truck theft, day by day

This is the PSA FedEx truck theft as it unfolded, told from police statements, PSA's own words and the reporting that followed. Where the accounts disagree, we say so. The short version, with every source, is our case timeline.

Tuesday, Oct 13: the truck

A FedEx truck carrying PSA orders was parked near PSA's shipping and receiving address, 1610 E. St. Andrew Place in Santa Ana, California (The Athletic (opens in a new tab)). The driver left it unattended. Police later said the lock had been broken or removed, two pallets of packages were taken and a third pallet was disturbed (AP via ABC News (opens in a new tab)). PSA reported the theft to police that day (NBC Los Angeles (opens in a new tab)). No report we have found gives a time of day.

Friday, Oct 16, and Saturday, Oct 17: the email

For four days nothing was public. SKY-B, a YouTuber whose 104-card order shipped on Oct 13 for next-day delivery, noticed by Friday that it had not arrived, and PSA told him to file a lost-item form (Fortune (opens in a new tab)). The next day PSA's email reached him, and he posted it (SKY-B on X (opens in a new tab)).

The email said a FedEx vehicle "transporting PSA orders was burglarized" after leaving PSA's Southern California facility. It said the certs had been deactivated, selling platforms had been told, and payment would be "based on fair market value up to the Maximum Insured Value" (PSA's email, posted by SKY-B (opens in a new tab), Yahoo/Heavy (opens in a new tab)).

Around the same time, an owner on r/psagrading said their PSA 9 Smaug the Magnificent Gleaming Gold, a Magic card, was on the truck after they handed it to PSA in person at a Miami show. That is the owner's own account, as Dexerto reported it (Dexerto (opens in a new tab)). PSA's list, published on Oct 23, does include that Smaug.

Sunday, Oct 18: collectors start counting

With no list from PSA yet, collectors made their own. Boston Card Hunter (Nick Andrews), who told the AP he was not a victim himself, posted a shared sheet of 383 serialized cards reported stolen (Boston Card Hunter on X (opens in a new tab), AP via ABC News (opens in a new tab)). CheckCOA flagged every cert on it (CheckCOA on X (opens in a new tab)), and Heavy and Dexerto ran the first hobby stories (Heavy (opens in a new tab), Dexerto (opens in a new tab)).

Monday, Oct 19: police confirm

Collectors, PSA's parent company, posted a statement confirming the theft and promising compensation based on fair market value (Collectors (opens in a new tab)). The Athletic then reported the police account: about 100 packages on each of two pallets, about 50 more taken from a third, and PSA's estimate of about $963,000 for the two full pallets (The Athletic (opens in a new tab)). Police also told The Athletic that the driver had been gone 60 to 90 minutes, a figure most outlets repeated.

CBS Los Angeles, NBC Los Angeles and NBC News followed (CBS Los Angeles (opens in a new tab), NBC News (opens in a new tab)). A PSA spokesperson told NBC that grading fees would be returned (NBC Los Angeles (opens in a new tab)). The same day, victims began saying the first offers were low.

Tuesday, Oct 20: the AP story

The Associated Press took the story national. Police spokesperson Natalie Garcia said the driver had left the truck unattended and that "How long the driver was gone is part of the investigation". FedEx said "The security of our customers' shipments is a top priority" and referred questions to police (AP via ABC News (opens in a new tab)). As of that day, nobody had been arrested and nothing had been recovered (Latin Times (opens in a new tab)).

Wednesday, Oct 21: the account shifts

Police told FreightWaves that the 60 to 90 minute reports were inaccurate and that the driver was gone only a short time. Investigators were still checking what was in the truck, and whether the cards were going out or coming in (FreightWaves (opens in a new tab)). Fortune reported how PSA's insurance caps limited what owners could recover (Fortune (opens in a new tab)). Boston Card Hunter said he had obtained a "HEAVILY redacted" police dispatch report (Boston Card Hunter on X (opens in a new tab)).

Friday, Oct 23: the list

PSA published its first full public update, "Stolen PSA Orders: What We're Doing and How You Can Help" (PSA (opens in a new tab)). In it, PSA said:

• The Santa Ana Police Department and the FBI are investigating, and PSA has given them video footage, shipment manifests and item-level records.
• All 6,451 stolen items are on a published list, and every cert is deactivated and shared with marketplaces and auction houses (PSA's list (opens in a new tab)).
• Grading fees on affected orders are refunded, and payouts are going out without waiting for the investigation.
• Owners of items recovered later can keep the money or take the item back.

PSA also said more than 99.9% of the items it handled in the past year were processed and returned safely.

The list includes some of the hobby's most famous cards, among them a 1999 Base Set 1st Edition Charizard, a Shadowless Base Set Charizard and a Rayquaza Gold Star. Our breakdown of the list counts the rest.

What is still unknown

As of Oct 23, no arrest or recovery has been announced (PSA (opens in a new tab)). Police have not said when in the day the theft happened, how long the driver was gone, or what everything taken was worth. The $963,000 figure covers only two of the three pallets (The Athletic (opens in a new tab)). We add each new statement to the timeline as it comes.