LOS ANGELES
A Beverly Hills man pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing jewelry and other items from victims staying at a luxury hotel last year, officials stated.
He then traveled to Florida to sell the stolen goods.
Jobson Marangoni De Castro, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, two victims – both residents of Brazil – traveled together to Beverly Hills in May 2023 to attend a fashion event scheduled several days after their arrival.
On the evening of May 10, 2023, De Castro traveled by Uber to the victims’ hotel, tricked a hotel employee into giving him a key to the victims’ rooms, and – while the victims were away having dinner – stole six suitcases belonging to them.
The suitcases contained jewelry, clothing, and accessories worth about $1.8 million, prosecutors contend.
Later that evening, the victims returned to their hotel room to discover all six suitcases missing.
The hotel staff then notified law enforcement about the theft.
De Castro then traveled to Miami and, on May 17, 2023, messaged a buyer in Miami on Instagram.
De Castro told the buyer he wanted to sell jewelry – a diamond necklace and luxury watch – but he did not have papers for them because he had found them in a box belonging to his late mother.
The jewelry matched the description of that stolen from the victims in Beverly Hills a few days earlier, according to court documents.
The next day, the buyer wired De Castro $50,000 for the jewelry, which De Castro brought to the buyer’s store in Miami.
The name De Castro provided to the buyer was “Jobs Marangoni,” the same name he used for his Uber account.
De Castro has been in federal custody since August 2023.
U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera scheduled an April 30 evidentiary hearing for De Castro to determine the loss amount. A sentencing hearing is expected to be scheduled in the following months.
The FBI and the Beverly Hills Police Department investigated this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Gorin of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.