Crime

Lasell University student allegedly stole $500,000 from employer to fund lavish lifestyle

Ariel Foster allegedly spent $35,000 on a Tesla and $20,000 on a hotel stay in Maui.

Lasell student Ariel Foster, 19, allegedly scammed the Burlington mall jewelry store she worked at out of over $500,000. Burlington Police Department

By Susannah Sudborough

1 minute to read

Burlington police arrested a 19-year-old Lasell University student Wednesday after she allegedly scammed the Burlington Mall jewelry store she was working at out of $500,000 and used that money to buy a Tesla, Louis Vuitton merchandise, and a trip to Hawaii.

Burlington police allege that on three different occasions in February, Boston resident Ariel Foster increased the price of merchandise purchased at Lovisa, the jewelry store where she was employed, and then refunded the cost of the item to her own credit card.

Across eight fraudulent transactions allegedly made by Foster, the store lost a total of $547,187, police said in a news release Thursday.

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Police said they discovered the credit card scam when they were called to Lovisa on Feb. 22 to investigate a credit card machine breach. Once police identified Foster as a suspect, they served subpoenas to her banks. Her accounts allegedly showed the fraudulent transactions.

Foster’s accounts also showed that between Feb. 2 and Feb. 22, she spent $35,000 on a Tesla, $6,000 on Delta Airlines flights, over $20,000 on a hotel in Maui, and nearly $5,000 on Louis Vuitton merchandise, police said.

“Greed took over. I don’t know how else I would classify it,” Burlington Police Chief Tom Browne told reporters Thursday. “…When I first saw the amount I thought it was a mistake.”

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Police said they searched Foster’s Boston home and her dorm room at Lasell before taking her into custody without incident. She was later released on bail.

Lasell University told WCVB Thursday that Foster is still enrolled at the school as a freshman and that it is conducting its own investigation. The news station reported that she is a track and field star at the school.

“We are aware that a Lasell University student was arrested on Wednesday, March 8. The responsibility of all students to comply with local, state and federal laws applies both on- and off-campus,” the school said in a statement.

Foster is charged with larceny over $1,200 and is set to be arraigned in Woburn District Court on Friday.

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