OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – Osceola County deputies arrested on Wednesday the woman who sued Casey Anthony for defamation after they say the woman stole a credit card from a motel guest and made hundreds of dollars of fraudulent purchases.
Zenaida Gonzalez, 45, was arrested on charges of theft of a credit card and grand theft, along with Jonathan Acevedo, 26.
Gonzalez bonded out of jail early Thursday but didn't say anything to News 6 as she walked to a car.
The investigation began in December when deputies said they took a report from a man on behalf of his 64-year-old friend, who was in the hospital being treated for cancer when he was notified by his bank of suspicious transactions.
Detectives said while the victim was in the hospital between Dec. 12 and 14, the victim's credit card had been used at 7-Eleven, Home Depot, Walmart, RaceTrac and Sports Authority for $850 worth of purchases.
"They said that they were desperate for money so they took the cards and they used it. Both Gonzalez and her boyfriend, Acevedo, were using that credit card while this individual was in the hospital," said Twis Lizasuain of the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.
Gonzalez and Acevedo were staying at the Star Motel and working for the motel cleaning rooms when they took the credit card of the victim, who also lived at the motel, and made numerous purchases, according to a release.
"They were using their own identities. They were just using the credit card the individual that they did not have permission to use," Lizasuain said.
Deputies said surveillance video showed Gonzales and Acevedo using the stolen card at one of the stores. Some of the items purchased have been recovered and taken into evidence.
Evidence linked Gonzalez and Acevedo to the investigation and they were arrested Wednesday in Orlando. Both were booked into the Orange County Jail.
Gonzalez's defamation suit against Anthony was thrown out in September, several years after it was filed where Gonzalez claimed Anthony framed her as the baby sitter who kidnapped and killed Anthony's 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. A jury acquitted Anthony of murder in 2011.
"It was surprising to see that she was a suspect in our case. It wasn't until after detectives began investigating that they discovered that Zenadia Gonzalez, the suspect in our case, was connected to the Casey Anthony case," Lizasuain said.
Gonzalez was previously arrested after authorities say she gave alcohol to someone under 21 while working at Circle K Food Mart in 2012.