Related videos:
A Cuban couple was arrested this Tuesday in Miami-Dade, accused of defrauding over $200,000 from a long-time family of friends, through a scheme that combined the fraudulent sale of luxury watches and jewelry with non-existent cruise packages.
The Miami-Dade County Sheriff's Office (MDSO) identified the suspects as María Blasco Díaz, 64 years old, and her husband Antonio Díaz, 65.
The couple is facing charges for organized fraud of $50,000 or more, first-degree grand theft of over $100,000, use of counterfeit instruments, and theft from an elderly victim. She is also charged with issuing bad checks.
According to the arrest report cited by media outlets, the scam began in 2022 when Blasco offered a long-time friend a 50% discount on Rolex watches under the "friends and family" scheme, taking advantage of the fact that her husband worked in a jewelry store.
The offer was extended to the victim's family members, who paid deposits for 16 Rolex watches and one Patek Philippe, amounting to a total of 138,948 dollars.
Blasco justified the delays in the delivery of the goods with repeated excuses: that the items had been sent to the wrong store or that they were being held for "quality control."
In February 2023, Díaz sent one of the buyers a screenshot of an email as alleged proof that the watches had been ordered and would arrive in March of that year.
In that same month, the victim gave Blasco a check for $3,000 for a pair of lab-created diamond earrings, which were on sale. According to reports, the accused told her that she could not pick them up until they were released from quality control. Other family members also purchased jewelry for over $13,400.
Additionally, the victims paid $44,910 for a cruise scheduled for July 9, 2023, aboard the Odyssey of the Seas by Royal Caribbean, which about 20 family members were preparing to embark on.
Less than a week before the departure, Blasco showed up at the main victim's workplace and claimed that his contact at the cruise line had been "fired."
When the victim called Royal Caribbean directly using the provided reservation number, the company confirmed that the reservation existed, but it was not in the name of any of the travelers.
Blasco issued partial refund checks that bounced due to insufficient funds, coming from a newly opened account that bank officials confirmed was established "with a minimum deposit" and in which "no additional funds had been deposited."
The total amount defrauded amounts to $200,259.85, with victims receiving neither any of the promised goods or services, nor any reimbursement, according to the police report.
Blasco confessed to the crimes before the detectives, although she claimed that her husband was not involved; despite that, Díaz was also arrested.
According to a report from NBC Miami, both appeared in front of a bail court on Wednesday, where one of the victims stated that her parents, aged between 70 and 80 years old, along with 20 family members, were affected by the fraud scheme.
"My entire family was deceived by her, through friendship," the woman said before the judge. "She was someone we trusted completely."
The judge set a bail of $35,000 for each defendant, imposed a no-contact order with the victims, and established a Nebbia hold, which requires them to prove that the funds for the bail come from legitimate and legal sources.
If found guilty, Blasco and Díaz could face decades in prison. Florida law classifies organized fraud and grand theft as first-degree felonies, which can carry sentences of up to 30 years in prison.
Anyone who believes they have been scammed by the couple can call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477, the police urged.
This case adds to a series of frauds orchestrated by Cubans in South Florida, which have particularly affected elderly individuals, the sick, and the disabled.
Filed under: