Yesterday, March 8, a press release issued by John Guilfoil Public Relations reported that first-year Ariel Foster was arrested on charges of larceny over $1,200. The track-and-field athlete reportedly stole a total of $547,187 from Lovisa Jewelry at the Burlington Mall as part of a credit card refund scam.
Foster was an employee of the store, and allegedly used store merchandise to falsely refund money to her own credit card over eight separate transactions, according to Burlington Police. A subpoena to Foster’s bank account then uncovered records of Foster reportedly using the funds to make purchases from Tesla, Delta Airlines, a hotel in Hawaii, and Louis Vuitton.
According to Detective Brittany Zaccagnini of Burlington PD, there is "evidence to show Foster spent approximately $99,000. We also know that there is a significant amount of money in her accounts. These funds are all currently frozen and being held at this time."
Burlington Police, Boston PD, and campus police executed search warrants to arrest Foster at her resident dorm.
According to police, Foster has been released on bail, and is likely to be arraigned at Woburn District Court on Friday. The Athletics Department has refused to comment at this time.
“The responsibility of all students to comply with local, state, and federal laws applies both on- and off-campus,” Director of Communications Ian Meropol told the Chronicle. “We are currently gathering all of the facts. As of today, there has been no change in her status as a full-time student.”
More coverage to come online at 1851chronicle.org.
Link to release: https://jgpr.net/2023/03/09/burlington-police-arrest-woman-on-larceny-charges-following-credit-card-breach/