PAHRUMP, Nev. – A brothel employee and an armored vehicle driver from Las Vegas face felony theft charges following their arrests in a months-long investigation of cash disappearing from a Nevada brothel, a sheriff said Monday.
Bookkeeper Shiva Zamiri, 42, and Loomis Fargo & Co. driver Jessie Aulelava, 25, may have stolen more than $100,000 from money bags from the legal brothel since last October, Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly told reporters. Zamiri also faces a felony burglary charge. The sheriff wouldn't name the brothel.
Cash was plentiful in bank deposits because many customers at the Pahrump-area brothel use dollars to avoid credit card records, sheriff's Sgt. David Boruchowitz said.
Zamiri was accused of removing money prior to doing an exact cash count, and Aulelava was accused of signing for bags that disappeared before arriving at the bank.
Aulelava was arrested March 19. Zamiri was arrested March 23. Boruchowitz said each was freed from jail on $10,000 bond pending court appearances.
Court records weren't immediately available, and it wasn't clear if Zamiri and Aulelava had lawyers.
Loomis Armored US official Danny Pack in Houston declined company comment on the arrest.
Nye County is one of several rural Nevada counties with legal brothels. Prostitution is illegal in Clark and Washoe counties, home to Nevada's largest cities, Las Vegas and Reno.
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