Contra Costa Co. woman accused of assaulting flight crew, SFO staff, customs officer
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 5: A Southwest Airlines plane takeoff from the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, United States on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Calif. - A 40-year-old Contra Costa County woman has been indicted for assaulting the crew of an Air India flight to San Francisco, then assaulting an airport employee and a customs agent.
Reshma Kamath of Bethel Island is accused of interference with flight crew members and attendants, assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer, and interference with security screening personnel, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Northern California said Friday.
Kamath was a passenger on Air India Flight 173 from Delhi to SFO on June 28 and 29, prosecutors said, citing the indictment filed Nov. 5 and unsealed Thursday.
"During the flight, Kamath allegedly assaulted and intimidated two flight crew members, including by verbally abusing, threatening, and striking them," prosecutors said. "Upon landing at SFO, Kamath allegedly assaulted an SFO employee with security duties and resisted arrest by and struck a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer."
Kamath made her initial appearance in district court Thursday, prosecutors said.
According to federal court records, a person named Reshma Kamath was a lawyer who was disbarred on Aug. 29, 2024. The California State Bar lists Kamath's office location as Oakland and says she is not eligible to practice law.
No one responded to a message seeking comment that was left at the office after regular business hours on Friday.
If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of interference with flight crew members and attendants, eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine for assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer, and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for interference with security screening personnel, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.