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Ariana Rose projected the image of a woman enjoying a luxurious lifestyle, complete with designer clothes and expensive cars. However, behind this facade, the 40-year-old was engaged in a sophisticated pattern of deception. Posing as a house sitter, she targeted affluent homeowners, stealing valuables such as jewellery and silverware, and on one occasion, a Le Creuset Balti pan. Police described her as “magpie-like” due to her tendency to keep some of the stolen items for herself, even preparing a family dinner and baking a cake for a household she was robbing.
Operating mainly between July and October, Rose traveled across several counties, including Warwickshire, Hampshire, Somerset, and Suffolk, using rented BMWs to facilitate her crimes. Through the online platform Trusted Housesitters, she gained access to various homes, amassing £35,000 worth of valuables in Warwickshire alone. Her stolen items ranged from a £15,000 tennis bracelet to cherished Christmas ornaments collected over 27 years, as well as war medals and a CBE medal belonging to one victim’s grandfather. When police apprehended her on a motorway in November, many stolen possessions were discovered in her possession, including designer sunglasses, a Rolex watch, cash, jewellery, and a parcel containing counterfeit US currency.
Detective Constable Adam Stather from Warwickshire Police explained that Rose was initially arrested for a single offense, but further digital investigations revealed additional victims unaware of their losses. “We knew if we let her go she would disappear. It was all hands to deck to get her remanded,” he stated. The detective noted Rose’s unusual behavior of holding on to some items herself instead of selling them, likening her to a magpie attracted by dazzling objects. Trusted Housesitters confirmed Rose had used forged identities to bypass their verification processes and was removed from their platform multiple times, although she kept finding ways to re-enter. A spokesperson for the company emphasized that cases like this are exceptionally rare and that they act immediately to remove offenders and cooperate with law enforcement when necessary.
Rose’s criminal record extends back over a decade, encompassing a series of fraudulent activities. In 2008, she was imprisoned for fraud related to unauthorized transactions totaling £60,000 at Barclays Bank. Three years later, Rose received a 20-month sentence after defrauding would-be tenants by advertising flats she had no authority to rent. She conducted fake viewings and forged contracts, collecting over £4,000 from three victims. Subsequently, Rose illegally sublet a two-bedroom flat in Manchester under a false email address, deceiving tenants into believing the landlord had approved her actions. One tenant, Aoibheann Alliot, paid Rose more than £4,300, describing her as “controlling and irrational” with strict restrictions on guest visits and use of communal facilities. Over this period, Rose collected over £30,000 in illicit rental income before eventually vacating the flat in an untidy and dirty condition, leaving behind evidence of financial difficulties.
More recently, a property administrator pursued legal action after Rose occupied a flat in Ladbroke Grove, west London, from 2023 to 2025, accruing £43,400 in unpaid rent. Upon leaving in December, she left the property in a filthy state but evidence of her extravagant lifestyle was evident. Records also revealed that between January and June 2024, she received multiple payments totaling £7,400 labeled as “rent,” indicating she had likely sublet the property illegally. Judge Nicholas Rimmer sentenced Rose to five years imprisonment on charges including theft, fraud, using a false tenancy agreement, and perverting the course of justice. The judge ordered her to repay over £65,692 in compensation, describing her conduct as a nearly decade-long campaign of dishonesty with significant and far-reaching impacts on her victims. Reflecting on the case, Det Con Stather praised the thorough investigation that led to her capture and suggested that there might still be more victims yet to be identified
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