August 19, 2010
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News: Salon Owner Dupes Starlets
Several Hollywood starlets are in shock today after discovering that they have become victims of a credit card thief. The owner of a posh beauty salon in Beverly Hills, California gave clients more than a rich facial and body wrap, she soaked some of them for several hundred thousand dollars. Maria Gabriella Perez, the owner of Chez Gabriela Studio where a facial can cost you in the thousands was arrested after a credit card theft investigation led authorities to her front door. According to court records, Perez who catered to the elite Hollywood crowd had been stealing from the rich and giving to herself for several years. The salon owner allegedly would use her client's credit card information to manually enter bogus charges and thereby collecting thousands of dollars.
According to reports, Perez was arrested by the FBI at her Beverly Hills studio after an investigation discovered that she allegedly retained the credit card numbers from her celebrity clients and used them later for her own benefit. It is estimated that over the past year alone, Perez charged over $280,000 in fraudulent credit card transactions. She allegedly stole over $68,000 from a high-end jewelry designer, Loree Rodkin as well as $214,000 from Liv Tyler over a period of five months last year. A few of her other victims include Jennifer Aniston, Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, and Melanie Griffith.
Although Perez continued to boast that Jennifer Aniston was one of her clients, Aniston told Good Morning America that she is no longer one of Perez's clients and had stopped visiting her salon nearly five years ago. Perez had been in business since 1986 and specializes in natural skin care, however, does advertise other types of skin procedures such as laser treatments and acid peeling. She has been charged with two counts of credit card fraud and up to 25 years in prison. Ms. Perez has pleaded not-guilty to the charges.