Samuel Brinton, a former Biden administration senior Department of Energy official, has been accused of luggage theft by a Tanzanian fashion designer. Brinton is facing charges for alleged airport baggage theft following reports that he is in the habit of stealing women's luggage at airports to take their clothes, which he proceeds to wear to public events. Brinton, who is non-binary, was released from a Minnesota facility Wednesday, Feb. 22, without bail. After Fox News reported about Brinton's luggage charge, Asya Khamsin, a Tanzanian fashion designer, searched for him and saw Brinton wearing the custom-made clothes that she had reported missing from a Washington, DC, airport in 2018. The fashion designer who has made her own clothing for years, tweeted photos showing some of the clothes she lost and then Brinton wearing the same outfits.
Khamsin wrote: "My name is Asyakhamsin Tanzanian fashion designer based in Houston Texas USA.“I lost my bag in 2018 in DCA recently I heard the news on @FoxNews about @sambrinton's luggage issue surprisingly I found his images wore my custom-made outfits which were in the lost bag in 2018.”
Before Khamsin's post, Brinton was charged with stealing a woman's luggage worth $2,325 near the baggage claim area at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on Sept. 16. A judge ordered him to not have contact with any of the victims. He was slated to appear in court Dec. 19, but the date was changed at the request of his lawyers. Brinton oversaw nuclear waste policy at the Department of Energy but departed the agency last year. "Sam Brinton is no longer a DOE employee," an agency spokesperson told Fox News. "By law, the Department of Energy cannot comment further on personnel matters."He faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. In a separate case in Nevada, Brinton is accused of stealing a bag worth $3,670 at Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport on June 6, 2022. The bag contained jewelry valued at $1,700, clothing worth $850 and makeup valued at $500.
Las Vegas investigators re-opened their probe into the theft amid media reports of the Minnesota case. In the Nevada case, Brinton faces up t o 10 years in prison. In December. He was released after his bail was set at $15,000. Brinton left the DOE soon after the alleged thefts came to light. Below are more photos of Brinton wearing Khamsin's designs.
