Authorities: Con Woman Used 'Physical Attraction' To Steal Victims' IDs And Live 'Jet-Set Lifestyle'

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A 43-year-old woman arrested recently on suspicion of identity theft found her victims on "well-known dating websites and home rental websites," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said, and used their information to fund her "jet-set lifestyle."

Maria Christina Johnson is accused of using the powers of "physical attraction" to gain entry into her victims' homes, where she found personal information she would later use to steal her victims' identities and open new lines of credit, the sheriff's department said.

Johnson is accused of using those fraudulent lines of credit to run up huge hotel tabs and buying expensive goods. She was arrested April 28 at a luxury hotel in Santa Barbara, deputies said, where she was believed to have charged as much as $250,000.

"She has no legitimate source of income and lists her occupation as a dog trainer, yet appeared to live the high-dollar lifestyle of the café society entirely off stolen identities," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. "The days of Maria Christina Johnson living a jet set lifestyle at the expense of others came to an end last week."

She was arrested following an extensive investigation by the Southern California High Tech Task Force Identity Theft Detail, authorities said.

"Johnson's elevated sense of entitlement compelled her to go to great lengths in aggressively assuming identities; no one was immune from being exploited," the sheriff's department's statement said. "Johnson also made appointments with real estate brokers to view expensive homes, possibly in attempt to locate her next victim, and on one occasion, stole the identity of the real estate broker."

Johnson has been linked to various scams dating back to 1997, authorities said, and is also known as Maria Hendricks, Gia Hendricks, Maria Christina Gia, or Maria Hainka.

Johnson "has a past littered with felony convictions for fraud dating back to 1997," the sheriff's department said.

In 2011, she was arrested for allegedly running a scam in which she hired an "assistant" to help her run a Hollywood modeling agency, but disappeared after obtaining her assistant's banking information.

The sheriff's department asked anyone with further information to call the Southern California High Tech Task Force Identity Theft Detail Detectives Ned Russell or Duane Decker at (818) 576-8884.