Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office
LAKELAND, Fla. - A Lakeland cleaning woman who claimed she found thousands of dollars worth of jewelry in a box on the side of the road has been arrested after deputies say the same jewelry disappeared from her clients' homes and ended up at a pawn shop.
What we know:
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, a 67-year-old woman told deputies that she believed her house cleaner, Ashley Hernandez, 31, stole approximately $11,500 worth of jewelry from her master bedroom during scheduled cleanings.
The woman said she was missing several items from her jewelry box, including:
- An 8-inch diamond bracelet valued at $2,000
- A pendant valued at $3,000
- An 18-carat gold men’s ring with a Medusa imprint valued at $3,000
- A 7-inch, 18-carat gold ID bracelet valued at $3,000
- A pair of 18-carat gold panther earrings valued at $500
Investigators said Hernandez, who owns her own cleaning business, was hired to clean the victim’s house three times since December 2025 and during each visit, she had full access to the home and was often alone inside.
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Dig deeper:
During the investigation, the victim reported that other people accused Hernandez of similar theft on social media.
A friend of the victim, who also used Hernandez’s cleaning services, confirmed that items totaling $350 were missing from her Brandon home, according to PCSO.
Deputies said they found several of the stolen pieces at Quick Cash Liquidators and some of the jewelry had already been sold or melted down.
According to PCSO, Hernandez, who is accused of stealing $12,180 in jewelry, had taken part in 12 separate fraudulent pawn transactions.
Hernandez was arrested and charged with dealing in stolen property, providing false owner information to a pawnbroker, and theft from a person 65 years or older.
What they're saying:
"When you invite someone into your home to work, you’re placing a great deal of trust in them. This suspect took advantage of that trust, and our detectives, who are the very best, wasted no time uncovering the truth," stated Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. "I would suggest that anyone who allowed this suspect into their home do a full inventory on their valuables and report any suspected theft to their local law enforcement agency."
Sheriff Judd added that Hernandez told investigators that she found the jewelry in a box on the side of the road.
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"You actually clean the house where the jewelry was missing and then the jewelry that was missing shows up at a pawn shop, where you signed the pawn stuff, right? And you’re trying to tell us you found it on the side of the road in a box. I think, probably, her brain was on the side of the road in a box," Judd said.
The Source: This article was written with information from a Polk County Sheriff’s Office press release and Sheriff Grady Judd’s morning briefing.