CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK) — A housekeeper is accused of stealing from the family that trusted her to clean their home.
Sherry Lee Maldonado was a housekeeper for a family in southwest Cape Coral. After she left their home, the victims say they reported that several items were missing, like jewelry, cash and personal property. The items totaled approximately $25,000.
Investigators found that Maldonado sold 21 different items at four different pawn shops between April 3 and Aug. 18. They say she got more than $30,000 for pawning the stolen jewelry.
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Maldonado was arrested Oct. 16 and taken to the Lee County Jail. She is facing a charge of grand theft and 16 counts of stolen property.
“This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Obviously, so people really need to be paying attention to who they’re hiring. Obviously, hiring someone who’s licensed, who’s reviewed, who is well recommended from people you may know,” said Lisa Greenburg, Cape Coral Police Department Public Information Officer Lisa Greenburg said.
Police say it can be hard to verify who owns an item sold at a pawn shop.
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“People pawn items off all the time that don’t belong to them, and so I don’t know exactly what safeguards are in place, but most of the time you don’t have to prove that you own the item,” Greenburg said.
The victim got a few pieces of the stolen jewelry back. Police say the rest couldn’t be traced, and it’s unclear whether the victim will ever get all their money back.