OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – A St. Cloud police officer is accused of stealing and using a dead person’s credit card information, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
Dianne Ferreira, 25, was arrested after being with the St. Cloud Police Department since February 2022.
According to Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez, a woman notified law enforcement her dead husband’s credit card was being used one day after his death. The sheriff said $450 was spent using the man’s card information for food, gas and hotel.
Investigators learned Ferreira was one of the officers who responded to a medical emergency in April and took photos of the victim’s credit cards.
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“You know, as a member of law enforcement, this makes me sick and nauseous whenever we have to do something like this. But you know what we treat them any other person. Everyone is held accountable for their actions,” Lopez said.
Lopez said after the card was canceled, there were a couple attempts to use the card, including a purchase for eyelash extensions.
“There’s no excuse. If you’re gonna get your nails and your eyelashes and you’re ordering food from Wendy’s, I don’t think that your eyelashes justify a need,” Lopez said.
St. Cloud police Chief Douglas Goerke said the findings in the investigation “shocked and appalled me.”
“To take advantage of a person in a time of need is absolutely reprehensible,” he said.
The sheriff said it’s being looked into whether there are other victims, but he believes it is an isolated incident.
Ferreira is being held on $4,000 bond.
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