A police officer has been found to have spent hundreds of dollars on a dead person’s bank card.
Officer Dianne Ferreira, of St. Cloud, Orlando went on a luxurious spending spree, including a $450 hair appointment, beauty appointments, gas fill-ups, meals and a hotel stay. According to Osceola County Sheriff Marcos López she got possession of the bank card at the house of some who had died on April 3.
Ferreira also confessed to taking photos of the bank details while responding to the emergency medical call. The 25-year-old was booked in the Osceola County Jail after being charged with stealing credit card information, fraud and identity theft, but has since been released.
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She was first hired by the St. Cloud Police Department in August 2021, but has resigned after being interviewed as part of the investigation. The victim’s family received an apology from SCPD Chief Douglas Goerke, who called Ferreira’s alleged actions “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.
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, reports the Orlando Sentinel.
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.”
