ST. CLOUD, Fla. — A Central Florida officer was arrested for stealing and using credit cards from a dead person, according to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.
Dianne Ferreira, 25, confessed to taking credit card information from a death investigation scene she was working back on April 3.
The widow of the deceased man contacted the Saint Cloud Police Department on April 14 to report strange charges on her spouse's credit card, a news release explained.
An investigation revealed that unauthorized charges began on April 4, a day after the man died. The charges included seven mobile fuel purchases, a mobile food order at Wendy’s and a charge for a hotel room, the sheriff's office wrote in a statement.
Two additional charges were attempted after the cards were canceled: one was another fuel charge, and one charge was at a business that specializes in eyelash extensions.
The sheriff's office said as the investigation continued, detectives were able to identify the make and model of Ferreira's vehicle and general description.
"Further, all incidents occurred during days Ferreira was off work or during a time of day when she was not at work. The incidents in Osceola County occurred at locations near her residence," the statement reads.
Ferreira admitted to taking photos of the deceased person's credit cards while she was on the scene of the investigation, the sheriff's office said. She also confessed to loading the credit cards into multiple mobile applications on her phone and then using them for personal purchases.
She was arrested for criminal use of the personal identification information of deceased, fraudulent use of credit card over $200 and theft by taking or retaining possession of a card. Ferreira was fired without pay, the St. Cloud police chief said.
"As a member of law enforcement, it makes me sick and nauseous whenever we have to do something like this," Sheriff Marcos Lopez said during a news conference on Wednesday. "We treat them like no other person. Everyone is held accountable for their actions."
