Ex-Dominican Miss World nabbed in Miami US$100K bank fraud

New York.- Former Miss World Dominican Republic, Sally Aponte, 23, was arrested by federal agents in Miami-Dade County, Florida charged together with several alleged accomplices of scamming several banks out of US$100,000.

In a statement Miami Dade County prosecutors said the Dominican beauty, connived with compatriots Gabriel Perfecto Salcedo, Allen David Salcedo and Jerry Tejeda, first two are brothers and the third the former beauty queen’s husband.

Investigators said the former Miss World, and the three men scammed the First Bank of Florida, Coconut Grove Bank, Total Bank, JP Morgan Chase and others, using cloned credit cards and deposited the money in ghost accounts of shell companies, and reported the funds stolen to seek reimbursement.

The arrest of Dominican beauty and the three others resulted from an investigation by the Coral Gables Police Department, the US Secret Service and the Florida Office of the State Attorney.

Miami Federal District Court set bond at US$50,000 each for the former Miss World contestant her associates, but whether she or the others have posted it for their release was specified.

The local CBS channel on Friday reported that the Tejada and the three men are being held in Dade County Jail, and face up to 40 years in prison if convicted.