Police arrest dog groomer for credit card theft

Longboat Key police arrested a local dog groomer April 17 and charged her with the theft of a customer’s credit card.

Alicia Aeziman, 55, of Sarasota, allegedly used the credit card to purchase six pairs of sunglasses totaling $1,276.41 at the Sunglass Hut on St. Armands Circle and to pay a $217.25 bill at Café L’Europe on the Circle. Both purchases were made March 5, according to police.

On March 11, Jean Krafsur, 90, reported she went to Alicia’s Grooming, 4134 Gulf of Mexico Drive, on March 5 to make an appointment to get her dog groomed. When she got home, she realized she was missing her wallet. When Krafsur alerted her bank, she learned about a $6,000 phone-in transaction made March 5, at Sarasota-based House of Lords that the bank canceled.

On March 6, Krafsur said she found her bank credit card in her mailbox. She told police that later that day that she went out to dinner with Aeziman, and the two returned to her home on Mistletoe Lane. Before Aeziman left, Krafsur said she found her wallet and remaining missing credit cards in a potted plant in front of her home. 

Police had no further leads in the case until Krafsur came to the station on April 14 with a copy of her bank statement, which revealed the Sunglass Hut and Café L’Europe charges from March 5.

Longboat Key Detective Sgt. Robert Bourque used the information to obtain video footage at the Sunglass Hut, which confirmed Aeziman made the sunglass purchases with the card.

Bourque relayed the credit card theft information to the Sarasota Police Department and wrote up a theft affidavit. Aeziman was arrested without incident at her grooming business for the theft of the credit card and transported to the Sarasota County Jail because of arrest warrants related to the Circle theft charges. 

Aeziman’s attorney, Martin Burzinski, said his client “denies any wrongdoing or impropriety” and used the credit card with Krafsur’s permission. Burzinski said Krafsur was with Aeziman when the purchases were made. 

Bourque told the Longboat Observer the video confirms Aeziman was the only female in the store who wasn’t an employee at the time of the purchase.