Lasell University Student Accused of Stealing Over $500,000 from Jewelry Store Where She Worked

A college student in Massachusetts has been arrested after being accused of stealing over half a million dollars from her employer.

According to the Burlington Police Department in Massachusetts, Ariel Foster, 19, was arrested after being involved in a credit card scam that alleges she made approximately $500,000 in fraudulent charges.

Burlington Chief of Police Thomas P. Browne stated that Foster, who hails from Boston, has been charged with larceny over $1,200.

On Feb. 22, police officers were contacted to go to the Lovisa jewelry store in the Burlington Mall for a report of a credit card machine breach.

After an investigation by police officials, they determined that on three dates in February, several items that were bought at the store were scanned at the register at a higher price. Then those items were allegedly refunded to a credit card that belonged to Foster. The total of eight transactions was at a loss of $547,187.

Foster worked at the jewelry store and, based on the investigation, the transactions all took place while she was working.

After obtaining a subpoena for records from the 19-year-old’s financial institutions, investigators uncovered a refund transaction from the jewelry store, listed as Lovisa America LLC, that was issued to her bank account. Records revealed that Foster made several high-priced purchases between Feb. 2 and Feb. 22, including a Tesla that cost more than $35,000, and almost $5,000 in Louis Vuitton purchases. She also had purchases from Delta Airlines for almost $6,000, and more than $20,000 to a hotel in Maui.

On March 8, Burlington Police, Boston Police, and Lasell University Police had search warrants for Foster’s residence, as well as her dorm room. She was arrested and taken into custody without incident.

She was released on bail and will likely be arraigned this Friday at Woburn District Court.