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A Florida couple allegedly conned their longtime friends out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for promised cruise ship trips and luxury jewelry, according to authorities.
Antonio Diaz, 65, and his wife, Maria Blasco Diaz, 64, were arrested last Tuesday for allegedly creating a “large-scale fraud scheme” and stealing a whopping total of $200,259.85 from the victims, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
Blasco Diaz allegedly claimed to one of the victims in 2023 that she could get “discounted cruises and travel accommodations” through a friend who she said worked at Royal Caribbean, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Post.
The victim and her family then sent a total of $44,910 to the Diaz’s through Zelle, checks, and cash, for the promised “cruise excursions, drink packages, room upgrades, hotel stays, transportation, and travel insurance,” the document said.
Blasco Diaz made repeated excuses to the victim as to why she couldn’t provide travel documents for the “Odyssey of the Seas” voyage as the July 9, 2023, departure date loomed, the affidavit alleged.
The alleged swindler eventually provided checks for a partial repayment and offered to pay the remaining balance through a line of credit — but the funds were drawn from a newly opened account with an insufficient balance, court documents said.
The victim had also reached out to the cruise company about the trip reservation number provided by Blasco Diaz, but the company said it did not belong to the victim or her family.
The couple also allegedly accepted deposits totaling nearly $139,000 for 16 Rolex watches and one Patek Philippe watch beginning in 2022 after claiming they could benefit from Diaz’s 50% discount at a jewelry store he worked out.
They also received payments for “discounted” $3,000 diamond earrings under the same scheme, the affidavit alleged.
None of the luxe jewelry was given to the victims after repeated excuses for delays. The victims have not been paid any restitution for the fraud scheme, court documents said.
During a court hearing on Wednesday, one of the alleged victims told a judge that her elderly parents were victims of the con, as well as 20 family members who were promised the cruise trip, NBC6 reported.
“Our whole family was scammed by her, through friendship,” the woman said. “It was somebody who we trusted wholly.”
Antonio Diaz and Blasco Diaz were charged with organized fraud of $50,000 or more, first-degree grand theft, theft from the elderly, and uttering forged instruments. Blaso Diaz also faces a charge of issuing worthless checks, court records showed.
The judge ordered both to be held on a $35,000 bonds, the outlet said.
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