A man who posed as a mover and stole $26,000 worth of belongings from an 80-year-old Cedar Park woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison, officials said.
Jonathan Ruiz Oviedo, 31, of Lewisville, was convicted of theft from the elderly, a third-degree felony, after a two-day trial that ended on Feb. 13, according to a news release from the Williamson County district attorney’s office. Lewisville is about 25 miles northwest of Dallas.
Oviedo also was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. The victim hired Oviedo to help her move in August 2021 after she saw him working on another moving job in her Cedar Park apartment complex, the release said.
Oviedo posed as a representative of the moving company and agreed to move the woman’s belongings and store them for several months, according to the release. It said she paid him $600 in cash but that he never returned her property, including jewelry, silverware, clothing and furniture.
He also ignored multiple texts and calls from the woman’s daughter, who tried to find her mother’s property, the release said. It said he later demanded more money to release the property but failed to show up at the arranged times. Oviedo also lied to the Cedar Park police who tried to recover the property, officials said.