MIAMI (WSVN) - A young woman stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency from her ex-boyfriend and went on a hefty spending spree before she was arrested at a downtown Miami hotel, a private investigator said.
Speaking with 7News on Thursday, private investigator David Bolton said Maissa Jebali likely had ulterior motives when she embarked on a relationship with Michael Anthony Bravo.
“It looks like this was a con from day one,” said Bolton.
Bolton said Bravo hit it big in the cryptocurrency market.
“He started in online gaming, from what I understand, and then moved into the infancy of crypto and became very successful,” he said.
Bolton said Bravo met Jebali, a 22-year-old Tunisian native, back in June.
“They started dating. It was kind of a tumultuous relationship, but then, two Saturday nights ago, they decided that the relationship should end,” said the private investigator.
But when Bravo bid farewell for the final time, Bolton said, Jebali made her move.
“He fell asleep on his yacht, and she grabbed his AmEx credit card, and she was able to access his crypto accounts through his phone and transfer $850,000 worth of crypto, TrumpCoin, into her own crypto wallet,” he said.
In addition to the hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, Jebali also used her ex-boyfriend American Express card. According to a later arrest report, Bravo received an AmEx alert for a $4,239.44 charge from Airbnb.
Bolton said Bravo hired him to track his ex down.
“We found her two days later in downtown Miami at a hotel. We notified the City of Miami Police,” said Bolton.
Police met Jebali at the hotel — on Valentine’s Day, no less.
But there’s no love lost. When police confronted her, they said, Jebali told officers, “That loser is my ex boyfriend. He lets me use his credit card.”
Investigators said Jebali then told them, “I booked the Airbnb with his credit card, but I did not tell him.”
Police arrested her on charges of grand theft and credit card fraud.
Cellphone video captured officers walking the suspect out of the hotel lobby in handcuffs.
Now there is a new problem. After she appeared in a Miami-Dade courtroom, Jebali was handed over to immigration officials.
“She will be deported shortly, but she will not have made restitution, and my client has no access to the funds,” said Bolton. “Som courtesy of the U.S. government, she’s going to get a free plane ride back to Tunisia with $850K in her pocket at this point.”
Bolton said Jebali holds the key to the crypto wallet where Bravo’s money is.
“She has the passkey to get into those accounts,” he said.
Bolton said he and Bravo are working with local representatives to try and recoup the money.
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