HOUSTON – A woman posing as a potential patient allegedly stole thousands of dollars in Christmas bonuses and personal items from a Houston eye care office.
The heist happened Monday at InSight Eye Care in Houston’s Fairbanks neighborhood.
Dr. Victoria Glickman-Pham owns the eye clinic and tells KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding that she had just withdrawn thousands from the bank on Monday morning, Christmas bonuses for her employees.
All of that money, along with her wallet and watch, were stolen.
“I feel violated,” Glickman-Pham said. “My stomach was just uneasy the rest of the day. Super anxious that somebody’s in your private space.”
The theft occurred when a woman entered the office around 2 p.m., claiming she wanted to schedule an appointment for her sister, who was moving to Houston.
Security cameras captured the suspect’s calculated movements after she asked to use the restroom.
Instead of using the facilities, the woman was recorded peeking into various rooms before entering Glickman-Pham’s private office.
The theft went undetected until Glickman-Pham began receiving fraud alerts on her phone for purchases being made with her stolen debit card.
“I did think it was fake because I texted my husband and was like, ‘Did you get these weird fraud alerts?’” Glickman-Pham said.
The unauthorized charges amounted to approximately $3,500.
Staff members are now questioning whether the theft was premeditated.
“It would be weirdly coincidental that I just happened to go to the bank that morning and made a withdrawal,” Glickman-Pham noted.
Gabriela Urda, a technician at InSight Eye Care, described the suspect as “friendly” and said she was “laughing with the staff” before the incident.
“It’s just watching the videos is just so disgusting,” Urda said. “You feel like your work is like a safe place and then it’s not.”
Despite the theft, Glickman-Pham is determined to find a way to provide her staff with their holiday bonuses.
“It’s not their fault that somebody comes in and takes their Christmas bonus,” she said.
The Houston Police Department is investigating the theft.