Augusta police: Why would robbery victim lie about $1M he lost?

<p>When a Mexican restaurant's safe was stolen in Augusta last month, the restaurant owner first told cops the safe held an undisclosed amount of cash. Then he said it was $80,000. Then authorities found the suspected robbers with nearly $1 million in cash _ and they're wondering where it all came from.</p><p>The case began Dec. 26, when Veracruz Mexican Restaurant was robbed. Owner Emilio Sanchez told investigators the safe was bolted to the office floor and contained an undetermined amount of cash, a diamond ring and checkbooks and credit cards, according to Richmond County sheriff's Maj. Ken Autry.</p><p>Detectives were puzzled about why Sanchez didn't have an estimate of how much money was in there. "That in itself is suspicious," Autry said.</p><p>Then, on Dec. 29, police arrested five people and charged them with the burglary. Among them _ three men and two women _ authorities recovered nearly $1 million. The safe was later found empty in a body of water near Jefferson County.</p><p>The restaurant owner, Sanchez, has not been charged with a crime. But the FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency have been called in to look at the case.</p><p>"We need to know where that money came from," said Ed Reinhold, the special agent in charge of the Augusta FBI office. "That's why there's a federal interest."</p><p>Reinhold speculated that such a large amount of money could come from money laundering, "tax implications" or even drugs, but he would not reveal the FBI's specific interest in the investigation.</p><p>If the money is found to be legitimate business profit, Reinhold said, the recovered $1 million will be returned to its owners.</p><p>Search warrants have been executed at the properties of the robbery suspects and at the properties of Sanchez, his restaurant and another Veracruz Mexican restaurant location in Augusta, Autry said.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x28664e0)</p>