SAN ANTONIO, Fla. (WFLA) — Fabiano Zimbrunes was in tears when he shared his story with WFLA.
Zimbrunes moved to America from Brazil in 2018 to escape the crime.
“I’m from Brazil,” he said. “In Brazil, it happened all the time. We moved to America because America is more safe.”
For the last two years, Zimbrunes has been doing handiwork for residents at Medley at Mirada, a senior community in San Antonio.
“Yesterday, I had Fabiano come to do some handy work inside the house,” recalled Ann Mohney, who lives in the community. “He had parked his [truck] on the street like he always does.”
That’s when Zimbrunes got a call from his bank asking him to authorize a charge to his card in Zephyrhills. It was for a gift card costing $504.94, he said.
He soon learned $15,000 was charged to his cards and his wallet was missing from his truck. That wallet had $2,000 in cash inside.
“I pulled the Ring camera footage to see and on the Ring camera footage starting at 9:46, there’s a car that drove by and backed up and parked in front of his car, was there for a short time and drove away,” Mohney said.
She said the gates to her community stay open from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, which has her concerned.
“I don’t know if this can play a role in having them decide to close them all day instead of leaving it open if things like this are going to start happening,” Mohney said.
“Say this person is watching right now, what’s your message to them?,” asked Rogers.
“Stop, because America has a lot of opportunity for work.”
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft, but in the meantime, Zimbrunes holds on to hope that a better future lies ahead.
“I’m going to continue to work,” he said. “I can make the money again.”
“I’m alive,” he continued optimistically. “This is good.”
If you know anything about this crime, deputies are urging you to give them a call at 1-800-706-2488. You can also submit a tip online on the sheriff’s office’s website