Maya Vigueras is a convicted criminal with a record for Grand Theft and Insufficient Funds. Detectives for LAPD built a solid case against her.
Maya and her daughter, Brianda Melendrez (son going through apparent sex change according to LAPD detective) seem to work together. After ordering a custom armoir and leaving a check for deposit of $800, Maya called two days later to say they had "lost" the check and that I should issue stop payment and bring another check. It MUST be noted Maya said she would "stamp" the Pay To Order, so we left the original deposit check blank in the Pay to Order of section.
We discovered that stop payments are only good for 6 months but personal checks are valid for one year. Maya obviously knew this because she took the "lost" deposit check that my wife had originally given and sent it to her credit card company for payment ONE WEEK AFTER THE STOP PAYMENT WAS LIFTED. The LAPD detective was even unaware that a stop payment is only good for 6 months but a check is valid for a year.
Not too intelligent that she also wrote her account number on our "lost" check when she sent it to Capital One. It is a shared account with Brianda Melendrez. The check cleared and we discovered this in our monthly bank statement.
Maya first blamed Brianda for taking the check and assured us she would refund us the money. She then claimed she had no idea what happened to the check.
In summary, the entire transaction was for approximately $1500. She ripped us off for $800 by cashing the original "lost" deposit check and also the new deposit check plus the payoff on delivery of furniture.
SHE WAS A CONVICTED FELON BEFORE THIS INCIDENT. Capital One already had her accounts flagged for "suspicious activities." Convicted for Grand Theft, I picked her out of a police mug shot lineup. She changes name on her business all the time! The business next door (a salon) is well aware of how many rip offs she does because people come in looking for her. She does not hold regular hours either and is often found in her store with lights off and door locked. Police report tracked her down to a personal address in Encino.
Maya and Brianda were twice ordered to appear at a hearing with the LA City Attorney and they both failed to appear at either hearing.
We sued and won in Small Claims Court. She was ordered to pay, made one payment and could not get any more out of her. She is in violation of the order and still owes us nearly a thousand dollars.
PLEASE REPORT ANY SIMILAR ACTIVITIES TO THE Van Nuys Branch of LA City Attorney. Hilda Campos, City Attorney Hearing Officer handled our case.
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