Salon boss pleads guilty to celebrity scam

A beauty salon boss accused of scamming thousands of dollars from celebrities including Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Aniston has pleaded guilty to fraud as part of a plea deal.

Maria Hashemipour, owner of the Beverly Hills Chez Gabriela studio, was arrested in August for allegedly stealing the credit card information of clients and making a total of $280,000 (£186,667) worth of fraudulent purchases on their behalf.

Contactmusic reports that the 51-year-old entered a guilty plea to one count of access device fraud on the condition that another 40 charges against her would be dropped. She faces up to $240,000 (£160,000) in fines, a maximum prison sentence of ten years and possible deportation to her native Mexico.

Hashemipour has been ordered to fully pay back her alleged A-list victims, who also include Halle Berry, Liv Tyler and Cher.

> Aniston addresses credit card scam report