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While Miami’s infamous con artist industry has likely been scoring big scamming tourists here for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, some South Florida opportunists are learning that crime doesn’t pay.
For instance, if you were to use your employee keycard to access a room you weren’t assigned to clean, you may just get accused of theft when $6,500 in cash goes missing from said room (especially if the hotel is equipped with cameras).
Sunny Isles Beach police on Saturday arrested Trump International Resort employee Monica Latesha Peterson, 33, of Miami Gardens, on suspicion of grand theft. According to a police report detailing her arrest and alleged crime, Peterson is accused of stealing $6,500-worth of $100 bills from a hotel guest here for the World Cup (enough to get her three tickets to Saturday’s game). Trump International Resort representatives haven’t responded to a request for comment.
The guest told police they put a black fanny pack with 65 $100 bills inside the hotel room dresser Saturday while attending the Argentina vs Cabo Verde game. Considering the match starting time of 6 p.m., Miami’s notorious traffic, and the game going into overtime and lasting more than two hours, the guest would likely have been gone from the hotel room for several hours and late into the night.
Police say the victim didn’t notice the money was missing until the next morning. According to the arrest report, “An investigation was conducted utilizing hotel CCTV footage and employee keycard access logs. The investigation revealed that the defendant used her assigned employee keycard to access room 2105 at approximately 6:11 p.m. on July 3, 2026, while the victim was not present.
“The investigation further determined that the defendant was not assigned to clean or otherwise service room 2105 as part of her employment duties.”
According to the report, Peterson admitted to stealing $3,000 from the victim and stowed it in the glove compartment of her black Kia sedan. It wasn’t clear from the report how much of the victim’s money police found.
A resort spokesperson had not responded to New Times’ request for comment by the time of publication.
