A Mesa woman is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of items from elderly customers while working for a Valley house cleaning company.
Rosa Mendoza Ramirez was arrested on May 12 for allegedly stealing jewelry from several people between November 2015 and June 2016 and selling the belongings to pawn shops.
Last year, Scottsdale police were contacted by a person who said their $32,000 engagement ring had been stolen, court paperwork said. The victim also told police that she had recently hired a cleaning service and the ring disappeared around the same time.
Police reached out to the unidentified cleaning company and Ramirez allegedly admitted that she took the ring because she found it on the floor and believed that it was trash, court paperwork said. When investigators asked Ramirez to return the stolen ring she told them she was unable to find it.
Police were later able to locate the ring at a pawn shop, court documents stated. It was confirmed that Ramirez allegedly filled out paperwork when pawning the piece of jewelry.
After the discovery, police were able to locate several other stolen items allegedly pawned by Ramirez, court documents said. The suspect was given $3,500 for the items.
So far police have been able to notify nine victims, however, others have not been able to be located by police. According to officials, most of the victims are elderly (60 to 84 years old).
Ramirez allegedly told authorities that she took the ring without thinking about it but would not admit to any of the other crimes, court paperwork said.
It’s believed that Ramirez took an estimated $56,000 from victims while working for the cleaning company.
She is facing several charges including theft of control property and trafficking stolen property.
According to the court paperwork, Ramirez is not a United States citizen and could face deportation as a result of her charges.
ADT released a list of 10 safety tips for when workers are in your home. It includes everything from asking companies if they do background checks on employers to locking up valuable items. To see the full list, click here.
