Woman arrested after orchestrating scheme to defraud elderly residents in Miami: Police

A woman accused of scamming elderly residents in Miami was arrested on Friday, police said.

Katherine Coromoto Angulo Rivera, 27, is facing several charges, including organized scheme to defraud, grand theft and burglary of an occupied dwelling.

During her court appearance on Sunday, a judge set Rivera’s bond to $7,500.

According to Miami Police, Angulo Rivera used deceptive tactics when she targeted elderly residents such as offers to buy spare items and offer to clean jewelry, which allowed her to steal valuables from her victims.

An arrest report said during one instance, Rivera went up to a victim in the area of the 5000 block of Northwest Second Street and offered to buy spare frames in exchange for money and access to their home.

After gaining access to the victim’s home, Rivera told the victim she cleans jewelry and was able to convince the victim to trust her with her valuables priced at about $48,500, the report said.

Rivera, the report said, then placed the victim’s jewelry in a container, poured a blue liquid over it, covered it with a napkin and told the victim to wait an hour before getting their items. After the hour was over, the victim’s jewelry was gone and Rivera left the scene.

Rivera would continue this a second time and approached a victim in the area 5800 block of Southwest Second Terrace and told them she’d clean their jewelry, the report said.

Repeating the same scheme, the report said, she was able to steal the victim’s jewelry.

Rivera is estimated to have stolen around $50,000 worth of items.

During their investigation, detectives gathered statements from the victims, analyzed surveillance footage and were able to take River into custody on Friday.

Miami Police Chief  Manuel A. Morales released the following statement:

“This suspect preyed on the kindness and vulnerability of our elderly residents with a calculated and heartless scheme. I am proud of the patrol officers and detectives that found her and we encourage anyone who may have encountered her to come forward.”