10 May 2023 , 23:06
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A police officer used a dead person's bank card for a luxury spending spree - including $450 hair appointments.
Officer Dianne Ferreira, of St. Cloud, Orlando, was found to have spent hundreds of dollars on personal purchases such as beauty appointments, gas fill-ups, meals and a hotel stay.
Ferreira obtained the bank card at the home of someone who had died on April 3, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos López told said.
Ferreira also admitted to taking images of the bank details while responding to the emergency medical call.
Records show the 25-year-old was booked in the Osceola County Jail on charges of stealing credit card information, fraud and identity theft, but has since been released.
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Hired by the St. Cloud Police Department in August 2021, she resigned after being interviewed as part of the investigation.
Police speak to reporters alongside an image of Dianne Ferreira (FOX 35)SCPD Chief Douglas Goerke apologized to the victim’s family for Ferreira’s alleged actions, calling them “reprehensible.”
He said: "I have no tolerance for officers who harm our community or violate its trust."
Goerke added his agency “worked closely” with deputies, who found that the credit card charges were made by Ferreira, a patrol officer, the day after responding to a death at a home in St. Cloud.
While Osceola County Sheriff Marcos López said she admitted to taking photos of the victim’s credit cards and uploading them to several mobile apps, reports the Orlando Sent inel.
The officer admitted to using the bank details to make a number of private purchases - stock image (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Documents detailing the fraud investigation have not been released by the Sheriff’s Office and were not yet available in in court records.
Deputies are further investigating whether Ferreira committed other offenses in her time as a police officer.
Lopez added: “[Goerke] is looking into that on his end, and of course, we’ll be here if anything happens in our jurisdiction, but as of right now, this is an isolated incident.
"It’s still open. If anything else arises from this, we’re going to take the same course of action and make sure she’s arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."