NEIGHBORS SAY THEY HAD NO IDEA HOME WAS A HAIR SALON Maria Gabriella Perez, 51, a Beverly Hills beauty salon owner, was arrested today on federal fraud charges for allegedly taking credit card information from Jennifer Aniston, Anne Hathaway and other celebrity clients and running up nearly $300,000 in fraudulent charges. Perez's criminal history includes an arrest for shoplifting and bad-check writing.
Perez was arrested without incident at her business, Chez Gabriela Studio, by special agents with the US Secret Service, according to the US Attorney's Office. A search of legal documents found 20 variations of Perez's name, all with the same Social Security number. Perez also appears to have seven judgments or liens, against her and her property, the affidavit states.
Perez faces two counts of access device fraud -- a charge that carries a maximum statutory penalty of 25 years in federal prison, prosecutors said. The affidavit in support of the criminal complaint alleges that Perez ran up about $68,000 in unauthorized charges on a credit card belonging to jewelry designer Loree Rodkin.
An investigator with American Express also told the Secret Service he had discovered about $214,000 in fraudulent charges made last year from Chez Gabriela Studio to two AmEx credit cards belonging to Liv Tyler, according to the affidavit.
Perez ripped off Jennifer Aniston, Ann Hathaway, Liv Tyler, Melanie Griffith, Cher............ Among her clients: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Whitney Houston, Ellen Barkin, President Bill Clinton...........
Ragan Brooks was visiting her friend who lives directly across the road and watched the arrest unfold at about noon. "I was sitting at the table and I saw a mini-van pull up and I saw two guys get out in plain clothes. And then I noticed that guy had handcuffs on him and that guy has a gun," Brooks said. "Then all of these normal cars, not cop cars but Chevys and mini-vans, turned up and all of these cops were getting vests out of their trunks. "They spent a long time milling around and then they started taking out boxes." Brooks said the agents were at the house for at least four or five hours. "Apparently Perez was operating a salon out of there. There has always been a lot of cars, but I had no idea it was a salon," she said.
Most of the charges were made from Chez Gabriela Studio when the numbers from the credit card were both "skimmed' electronically and entered manually, according to the affidavit prepared by Secret Service agent Michael de Geus.
Jewelry designer Loree Rodkin told investigators she had spoken with several other high-profile victims who stated that, after legitimately paying for services at the studio, charges from the studio would appear on their credit cards without authorization, de Geus wrote. An investigator with American Express also told the Secret Service he had discovered about $214,000 in fraudulent charges made last year from Chez Gabriela Studio to two AmEx credit cards belonging to Liv Tyler, according to the affidavit.
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SERVICES Unlike other beauty care providers, Gabriela dedicates a great deal of time to each appointment, never rushing with any of her clients. She personally cares for each one of them, whether they are celebrities or not.
PRICING Prices reflect our studio privacy, our exclusive European products and incredibly sophisticated, delicate, caring treatment of the skin by Gabriela herself, our skin artist. Contact us to have a phone or in-studio consultation with our Skin Artist Gabriela. Gabriela will decide and design the specific treatment for you during the individual consultation. She customizes treatments according to your needs and requirements to perfectly balance and rejuvenate your skin.
TREATMENTS Basic "Gabriela" Facial Treatment from $500 (skin evaluation and initial basic skin repair facial) to $1,900 (complete basic facial) depending upon evaluation.
The "Double" Treatment from $800 (skin evaluation and initial basic skin repair facial and machines and Laser) to $3,000 depending upon evaluation.
Advanced facials generally start at $3,000
The $9,000 "Diamond Powder" Treatment. Gabriela offers great results with a combination of the Skin Master MD7 and her very sophisticated and experienced technique. This treatment requires one session every four days with a minimum of three sessions, each costing $3000.