College student working at Massachusetts mall scams $500K, buys Tesla, trip to Hawaii, police say

By WCVB Staff

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    BURLINGTON, Massachusetts (WCVB) — A Lasell University student who scammed more than $500,000 from a Massachusetts mall jewelry store where she worked spent thousands of dollars on a Tesla, Louis Vuitton items and a lavish trip to Hawaii, police allege.

Police were called Feb. 22 to Lovisa, a jewelry store in the Burlington Mall, for a report of a credit card machine breach.

Items scanned at the register on three dates in February had their price increased, and the cost of the item was refunded to a credit card belonging to 19-year-old Ariel Foster, of Boston, officials said.

Eight transactions involved a total loss of $547,187, police said.

Investigators reviewed Foster’s bank records, which showed that they made several high-priced transactions between Feb. 2 and Feb. 22, including the purchase of more than $35,000 for a Tesla, almost $6,000 to Delta Airlines, more than $20,000 to a hotel in Maui, Hawaii and almost $5,000 in Louis Vuitton purchases.

Foster was taken into custody at her Lasell dorm and charged with larceny over $1,200.

“We are aware that a Lasell University student was arrested on Wednesday, March 8. The responsibility of all students to comply with local, state and federal laws applies both on- and off-campus,” the school said in a statement.

She is scheduled to face charges Wednesday in Woburn District Court.

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