A California man was ordered held with bond Wednesday amid federal charges that he stole more than $1.8 million in jewelry, clothing, and accessories from victims at a hotel in Beverly Hills and then sold the goods in Florida.
Jobson Marangoni De Castro, 37, was arrested Monday at the Los Angeles International Airport and charged with interstate transportation of stolen property, the Justice Department said Thursday.
Federal prosecutors said De Castro traveled to The Peninsula Beverly Hills in an Uber on May 10 and stole six suitcases from two Brazilian citizens in town for a fashion event. The day before, De Castro allegedly ate at the hotel bar and charged his meal to the room where the victims were straying.
They told authorities they didn't know him, federal prosecutors said.
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De Castro, a Brazilian citizen with permanent U.S. residency, allegedly traveled to the hotel and tricked a hotel employee into giving him a key to their room. When he walked in, one of the victims wasn't there but the other was asleep, so De Castro left, prosecutors said.
He traveled back and forth to the hotel that day using Uber, authorities said. During another trip, the victims were out, and De Castro left their room with the suitcases, authorities said. Images show him inside a hotel elevator with the bags, a federal complaint said.
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The stolen suitcases contained jewelry, clothing, and accessories worth more than $1.8 million, authorities said. On May 17, De Castro allegedly traveled to Miami and messaged a potential buyer on Instagram.
He told the buyer he wanted to sell the jewelry and luxury watch but that he did have papers for the items because he found them in a box belonging to his late mother, the DOJ said. The buyer wired him $50,000 and De Castro brought the stolen items to the buyer's store in Miami, authorities said.
He told the buyer his name was "Jobs Marangoni," the same name he used for his Uber account, the complaint said.
The items stolen included five Tumi suitcases worth about $5,000; a $1,000 Rimowa carry-on bag; a Flavia Vetorasso diamond necklace worth $200,000; a Chopard L’Heure du Diamant watch worth $89,400; a $14,000 white Chanel dress, more clothing and shoes worth $285,000, jewelry and a passport.
Investigators were able to track De Castro's movements on the day of the thefts using GPS data from his Uber trips. In addition, one of the suitcases had two AirTags inside. During their investigation, authorities learned De Castro was being investigated for another theft at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
