A Central Florida cleaning business owner was arrested and then was arrested again and then again by local law enforcement.
Ashley Hernandez, 31, of Lakeland, was arrested by officers from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office after an investigation into the theft of thousands of dollars in jewelry from an elderly victim.
Officers initiated the investigation after receiving a call about a potential grand theft at a Lakeland home. The 67-year-old victim informed deputies that she suspected her house cleaner, Hernandez, had entered her master bedroom during scheduled cleanings and stolen around $11,500 in jewelry.
Ashley Hernandez, who has her own cleaning firm, was hired three times to clean the victim’s home, according to police. During each visit, she had complete access to the property and was frequently alone inside.
The elderly victim discovered that several high-value items had been missing from her jewelry box, including:
- an 8 inch diamond bracelet valued at $2,000
- a pendant valued at $3,000
- an 18 carat gold men’s ring with a Medusa imprint valued at $3,000
- a 7 inch 18 carat gold ID bracelet valued at $3,000
- a pair of 18 carat gold panther earrings valued at $500
Detectives discovered several of the stolen items at Quick Cash Liquidators and determined that Hernandez had engaged in 12 distinct fraudulent pawn transactions. She is suspected of stealing at least $12,180 worth of jewels. Unfortunately, some of the jewelry has already been sold or melted.
Ashley Hernandez was arrested and charged with dealing in stolen property, supplying fake owner information to a pawnbroker, and theft from a person aged 65 or over.
During the investigation, the victim stated that other users on Hernandez’s social media profile had accused her of similar thefts. A friend of the victim, who also utilized Hernandez’s cleaning services, confirmed that $350 worth of stuff had gone stolen from her Brandon home near Tampa. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is handling the theft portion of the investigation, but PCSO detectives responded to the jail and added a charge of dealing in stolen property, as well as another charge of providing false information to a pawnbroker, after confirming that the jewelry Hernandez stole from the victim in Brandon was pawned in Polk County.
Following Hernandez’s arrest, a Mulberry woman phoned the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, reporting that she had hired Hernandez to clean her home three times. She searched the premises at that point and discovered that a $2,500 white gold ring had gone missing. The ring was kept in a small jewelry dish near the bathroom sink.
The victim positively identified the ring as property confiscated by PCSO from Quick Cash Liquidators, where Hernandez had performed 12 fraudulent pawn transactions. The pawn shop issued a receipt for the stolen ring, which Hernandez signed on January 28th; the paperwork included a copy of her identification and her right thumbprint.
Detectives secured an arrest warrant charging Hernandez with dealing in stolen property, presenting false owner information to a pawnbroker, attempting to mislead, and grand theft. She was brought into custody again.
This marks Hernandez’s third arrest since February 18th.
“We would be willing to bet there are more victims out there,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. He said she was arrested, then she bonded out of jail days later, and cleaned this new victim’s home just days after that. “If Ashley cleaned your home, she may have cleaned you out. Please check your valuables and contact us if you suspect she did the same to you.”
“When you invite someone into your home to work, you’re placing a great deal of trust in them,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “This suspect took advantage of that trust, and our detectives, who are the very best, wasted no time uncovering the truth. I would suggest that anyone who allowed this suspect into their home do a full inventory on their valuables, and report any suspected theft to your local law enforcement agency.”