Watch CBS News

Police Fall For Alleged Con Artist

MIAMI (CBS4) -- Miami-Dade Police got grinched this year when a Miami woman allegedly conned them out of $1 thousand worth of toys.

Mayra Mesa, 49, has been arrested and charged with solicitation of funds and grand theft after she allegedly convinced Miami-Dade Police to contribute toys to a defunct charity she claimed to run known as "Manos en Accion."

Mesa told police she was collecting toys for 62 children and even provided a list of ages for the foster children she claimed she supervised. Her request included a delivery date prior to Dec. 20 so she could sort and wrap the gifts, according to police Spokesman Javier Baez.

The donated toys were delivered Dec. 14 to Mesa's her residence before police took a closer look at the non-profit forms she faxed over.

Apparently the inconsistencies on the forms, and the crossed out information clued the cops into looking deeper into the situation, especially after they contacted Mesa and asked where they could go to attend the event and she told them it had been rescheduled.

She said she did not know when or where the event was going to happen.

Police say they were able to confirm that Mesa was misleading them, and that she had never worked for the charity.

The investigation revealed that Mesa allegedly obtained the toys for her personal use through deception of a "non-existent" charitable organization.  Investigators recovered 46 out of the 64 toys.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.