A Los Angeles man has admitted to stealing jewelry from a luxury hotel in Beverly Hills and then selling the stolen items on the other side of the country.
Jobson Marangoni De Castro, 38, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one felony count of interstate transportation of stolen property, according to the United States Department of Justice.
On May 10, 2023, De Castro took an Uber to an unnamed hotel and convinced an employee to give him a key to a room that was not his. Once inside, he stole two suitcases from the victims while they were at dinner.
The victims, authorities said, were residents of Brazil who were in town to attend a fashion event.
The suitcases contained jewelry, clothing and other accessories with a value estimated around $1.8 million, according to prosecutors.
De Castro then took the items with him to Miami, where, a week later, he messaged a buyer on Instagram, hoping to unload the stolen goods.
The DOJ says De Castro offered to sell a diamond necklace and a luxury watch, claiming they belonged to his late mother and he was unable to produce documents to prove ownership.
The buyer ended up wiring De Castro $50,000 for the jewelry, which he brought to the buyer’s store in Miami. The jewelry matched the description of the jewelry stolen from the victims in Beverly Hills, court documents state.
De Castro used the name “Jobs Marangoni” while doing business with the unknowing buyer. That same name was used on De Castro’s Uber account, which helped link him to the hotel burglary.
De Castro was eventually arrested and has remained in custody since August 2023; officials did not say where he was arrested or what led to him being positively identified as a suspect.
He’s due back in court on April 30 for an “evidentiary hearing” and then is expected to be sentenced in the following months. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, the DOJ said.
The case was investigated by the Beverly Hills Police Department and the FBI.