A Wisconsin Democrat running to unseat incumbent Rep. Ron Kind (D., Wis.) was arrested on Monday for trying to scam a Manhattan jeweler out of a diamond ring and will be extradited to New York City on Wednesday.
New York Police Department detectives flew to Wisconsin and arrested Juliet Germanotta, 36, who describes herself as a "proud transgender woman," the New York Post reported Wednesday.
The trouble started on Sept. 19, when Germanotta—who has vowed to keep Wisconsin "fiscally responsible by questioning expenses"—ordered a $4,800 ring from Mikaelians Jewelry in Manhattan, according to police. Germanotta said that she did not like the 18-karat yellow gold Zambian emerald and diamond ring and asked for her money back.
Instead of sending back the ring, however, Germanotta sent back a fake, tricking the jeweler into refunding her. In the meantime, the congressional candidate attempted to sell the original back in Wisconsin.
Mikaelians filed a police report back in New York on Oct. 2, realizing the ring Germanotta sent was fraudulent. The prospective buyer in Wisconsin had the ring checked by an appraiser, who learned that it was stolen after contacting Mikaelians, police said.
The NYPD obtained a warrant from a New York judge and arrested Germanotta in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where she confessed to the crime.
Germanotta, an ordained minister, waived extradition in court on Tuesday and is being extradited to New York City, where faces a grand larceny charge, according to Wisconsin news reports.
According to Germanotta's Facebook page, she was born in Texas, grew up in New York City, and moved to Wisconsin in the early 2000s.
Germanotta is running in Wisconsin's third congressional district and has made LGBTQ rights and "Medicare for All" key pillars of her campaign, according to her social media posts.