Henrick Vartanian
On Wednesday, August 18, secret service agents arrested the owner of a Beverly Hills salon for allegedly ringing up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges on the credit cards of her of A-list clients.
According to a report by the Associated Press, Maria Gabriella Perez, 51, owner of the exclusive Chez Gabriela Studio, will face two counts of fraud.
Perez’s famous clients include: Jennifer Aniston, Liv Tyler, Anne Hathaway, Melanie Griffith, Halle Barry and Cher. Apparently, she held on to her celeb clients’ credit card info and entering random charges manually, in their absence.
An investigation began when jewelery designer Loree Rodkin noticed and told investigators about an incorrect charges totaling $68,000 to her credit card. Perez allegedly offered Rodkin $25,000 in-store credit and products but the designer was refused.
Actress Liv Tyler seems to have been hit the hardest, having a whopping $214,000 rang on two American Express card over five months. Aniston and Hathaway are said to have similar charges on their cards.
Hmm.., after such rip-off one wonders if the hair and nails were any good?