A Beverly Hills man who ripped off jewelry, clothing, and accessories from a couple staying at a luxury hotel in the city and then traveled to Florida to sell the stolen goods pleaded guilty Tuesday to a felony charge.
Jobson Marangoni De Castro, 38, entered his plea in downtown Los Angeles to a single federal count of interstate transportation of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
A sentencing date was not immediately scheduled.
De Castro tricked an employee of the Peninsula Beverly Hills hotel into giving him a key to the couple’s room, and — while the guests were at dinner — stole six of their suitcases. The bags contained jewelry, clothing and accessories worth more than $1.8 million, prosecutors said.
The couple — residents of Brazil — had flown to Los Angeles last May and checked into the Peninsula to attend a fashion event, according to documents filed in Los Angeles federal court.
A week after the theft, De Castro traveled to Miami and messaged a buyer that he wanted to sell jewelry — a diamond necklace and luxury watch — and that he did not have papers for them because he had found them in a box belonging to his late mother, court papers show.
The jewelry matched the description of belongings stolen from the Beverly Hills hotel room, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
On May 18, the buyer wired De Castro $50,000 for the jewelry, which De Castro brought to the buyer’s store in Miami, federal prosecutors said.
The name De Castro provided to the buyer was “Jobs Marangoni,” the same name he used for his Uber account.