(CNS) Posted Monday June 27, 2011 – 3:25pm
A Beverly Hills beauty salon owner was sentenced today to five years probation, including nine months in house arrest, for lifting credit card information from Liv Tyler, Jennifer Aniston, Cher and other stars and running up more than $300,000 in fraudulent charges.
Maria Gabriela Hashemipour, 51, pleaded guilty in January in Los Angeles federal court to one count of access device fraud.
"I'm extremely sorry for what I have done," Hashemipour told U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real before her sentence was imposed.
Prosecutors had asked for 2 1/2 years in prison, but the judge said he decided on probation due to the state of the defendant's health and to allow her to continue working to repay those she defrauded.
Along with probation and house arrest, Real ordered the defendant to complete 3,000 hours of community service.
He also set an Oct. 17 hearing to determine how much restitution Hashemipour must pay.
Hashemipour was arrested last August at her business/residence, Chez Gabriela Studio on North LaPeer Drive, by special agents with the U.S. Secret Service.
According to a sentencing memorandum, Tyler -- referred to as "L.T." in court papers -- had $214,655 in unauthorized charges placed on her American Express card by Hashemipour over a five-month period in 2009.
After discovering the charges, Tyler sent an email to jewelry designer Loree Rodkin, a fellow victim, telling her that Hashemipour "stole a lot of money from me," the memorandum states.
Tyler wrote that the rip-off was "completely bonkers" and "very shocking and sad to me since I had been seeing her since I was 18."
As for Rodkin, Hashemipour ran up about $68,000 in unauthorized charges on her credit card, according to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint.
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.
Rodkin told investigators that "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.
Along with Aniston -- who said in a televised interview that she had stopped using Hashemipour's services about five years ago -- victims named in the affidavit include Anne Hathaway, Melanie Griffith, Penelope Cruz and actor Scott Speedman.
"Today justice was served," said Hashemipour's attorney, Nina Marino.
"The court saw this case for what it was."
As for her client's future plans, Marino said Hashemipour "intends to continue to provide the gift of beauty that she has always provided to women."
Hashemipour's criminal history includes an arrest for shoplifting and bad-check writing, according to de Geus.
The agent also said a search of legal documents found 20 variations of the woman's name, all with the same Social Security number.
Hashemipour -- who was arrested under the name Maria Gabriela Perez -- also appears to have seven judgments or liens against her and her property, according to the affidavit.
