Celebrity Spa Owner Gabriela Perez Accused of Stealing From A-List Clients' Credit Cards
Gabriela Perez accused of stealing thousands from Anne Hathaway, Cher, others.
Aug. 19, 2010— -- The owner of a Beverly Hills, Calif., spa that caters to A-list celebrities is due in federal court today to face allegations that she fraudulently charged hundreds of thousands of dollars on the credit cards of some of her famous clients.
Gabriela Perez has denied stealing from her clients, although the criminal affidavit has named Jennifer Aniston, Cher, Anne Hathaway and Melanie Griffith among the alleged victims.
Federal prosecutors say actress Liv Tyler was allegedly hit the hardest with $214,000 in fraudulent charges appearing on her credit card in a five-month period in 2009.
"After the clients had legitimate services performed at the salon where they ran credit cards, she kept the credit card information and then ran unauthorized charges on the credit cards," Assistant U.S. Attorney Wesley Hu said.
Aniston said today on "Good Morning America" that she stopped going to Perez' studio about five years ago.
"We had a situation that was not cool," Aniston said. "So I stopped going to her. Paid her the money and left.
"I knew something like this would eventually happen."
But Perez' attorney issued a statement insisting she did nothing wrong.
"This is a legitimate business, and we fully expect that once all the facts come out that she will be exonerated of all the charges, and she is innocent," the statement read.
Perez, who calls herself a "skin artist" and counts President Bill Clinton and Penelope Cruz among her clients, according to her website, faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Her website is laden with celebrity compliments and testimonials; some from the very women she is accused of defrauding.
Cher called her the "Michelangelo of skin care" and Halle Berry thanked Perez "for the magic."
ABC News analyst and former FBI agent Brad Garrett said Perez may have been counting on her clients' unwillingness to press charges.
"Celebrities, I think, historically do not like to get involved in cases," he said of the allegations, "and so maybe she was hedging her bets that she could take the money and then work out an informal arrangement with the person later."
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