Two house cleaners from Coral Springs who are suspected in possibly dozens of burglaries in South Florida are now facing charges nearly three years after deputies said they stole expensive jewelry and cash from one woman’s home.
Oscar German Munoz, 61, and Martha Cecilia Molano, 57, are each facing charges of burglary of an unoccupied structure and grand theft between $750 and $5,000 in connection with the July 23, 2022, burglary where a woman’s gold necklace, seven pairs of gold earrings, four silver rings, a combination lock box and $800 in cash were stolen from her home, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Munoz and Molano were seen by a witness leaving the woman’s apartment that day in 2022, with Molano carrying cleaning towels and a bucket that deputies believe they hid the stolen jewelry in, the affidavit said. But the witness wasn’t able to identify them at the time.
On April 8, another victim reported to the Broward Sheriff’s Office that some time between 1:45 and 4:45 p.m., someone had stolen $4,200 in cash and a combination of diamond rings, gold wedding bands, bracelets and heirlooms worth more than $5,000, the affidavit said.
The apartment had not been forced into, nor was it in disarray, according to the affidavit. A window next to the front door had been unlocked. They said it seemed whoever stole from them “knew exactly where the valuables were located,” the affidavit said.
Munoz and Molano were allegedly seen on surveillance footage entering the gated Yardley Condominiums community in Tamarac in a rental car. They waited in the car outside the victim’s building until it was empty, the video showed, then walked up the stairs directly to the victim’s apartment. They came down the stairs again minutes later, the affidavit said, with Molano holding a cleaning bucket closely to her chest.
The detective asked a property management employee for surveillance video from the community’s front gate. The employee said Munoz and Molano run a cleaning company and have access to multiple residences within the complex, the affidavit said.
Detectives discovered “a pattern of burglaries in the community under similar circumstances and methods,” possibly dozens of them, the Sheriff’s Office said, where elderly or affluent people were victimized by Molano and Munoz “under the guise of being trusted housecleaners.”
Using software that allows law enforcement to search for business transaction records, they found that Munoz had completed over 40 pawn transactions from 2015 to 2023, the probable cause affidavit said.
He had sold bulk quantities of loose diamonds, scrap gold, platinum rings and gemstone bracelets, among other jewelry and collectible items, items that “closely match the descriptions of jewelry stolen in the 2022 burglary and other related incidents.”
Several of the transactions netted more than $8,000, the affidavit said, and all of the documented sales totaled more than $80,000. The Sheriff’s Office said in the news release they used the money for “lavish trips abroad.”
Detectives searched Molano and Munoz’s home in Coral Springs on May 5, discovering hundreds of necklaces, rings, watches, earrings, gems, coins and cash that belonged to victims, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.
Molano and Munoz are not facing charges in connection with the April burglary as of Wednesday. Both have been released from jail after posting bail. Attorney information was not available.
The Sheriff’s Office said that their investigation is ongoing, and they believe the pair cleaned other homes in Tamarac and in Palm Beach County.
The Sheriff’s Office asks anyone who believes they may be a victim to call Det. Danny Polo at 954-720-2225.