Woman arrested for scamming elderly Miami residents out of jewelry: Police

A woman accused of scamming elderly residents in Miami out of tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry 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 Angulo-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, Angulo-Riverawent up to a victim in the area of the 5000 block of Northwest 2nd Street and offered to buy spare frames in exchange for money and access to their home.

After gaining access to the victim's home, Angulo-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.

Angulo-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.

She would continue this a second time and approached a victim in the area 5800 block of Southwest 2nd Terrace and told them she'd clean their jewelry, the report said.

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

NBC6 spoke with two victims who with said Angulo-Rivera first approached them at the front door asking for water, then came in for a visit and offered to clean their jewelry.

Nelsa Siluvera, 81, was shocked the moment she realized someone stole her jewelry right before her eyes Friday.

She and her sister Ramona Sanchez, 76, were home Friday when the incident happened.

“As she’s engaging in conversation she’s pocketing the jewelry and the victims believe their jewelry is inside that liquid. After 20 minutes when they empty the liquid, they realize the jewelry is not there and she is also gone,” said Capt. Freddy Cruz with the Miami Police Dept.

Sanchez said once they realized Nelsa’s jewelry was gone, they got in her car and drove around looking for Angulo Rivera but couldn’t find her, so they called police. Nelsa says she lost $2,000 in jewelry.

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

Miami Police Chief Manuel A. Morales released a statement on the arrest on Monday.

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