Lincoln man charged with stealing jewelry while cleaning houses

LINCOLN, Nebraska (KOLN) – Charges have been filed after officials uncovered a series of thefts linked to a cleaning company in Lincoln.

Prosecutors have charged 25-year-old Austin Isa in three separate cases. The charges include theft and forgery.

According to court records, Isa was involved in several thefts, mostly involving diamond rings, while cleaning houses for a local cleaning company. In July, the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office accused Isa of stealing a $4,500 ring while on the job.

The victim told authorities that Isa claimed she knocked over her jewelry box before picking everything up. She later realized her ring was missing, and she was unable to make contact with Isa afterward.

On July 8, officers executed a search warrant for Isa's home and discovered more stolen jewelry, according to an affidavit. Investigators wrote that four more rings, including three gold diamond rings, were found in the home. They estimated the rings' value at $4,000.

Officials claim the diamond rings were pawned between May and June. The affidavit states that most of the rings were given to their owners as gifts from their mothers.

An affidavit shows that another wedding ring, valued at about $800, was taken to a Lincoln pawn shop on June 5. The owner of the ring discovered the ring at the store and bought it back, officials wrote. Isa received a separate summons in that case.

Isa is also being investigated by authorities in Papillion and Omaha for another suspected jewelry theft.

In addition to the jewelry thefts, Isa is also accused of forgery after one of his clients' cars was stolen in 2022.

A second affidavit states that one of Isa's clients reported the theft of her vehicle, valued at $10,000, on February 26, 2022. She initially told Lincoln police that Isa had come to clean her house before the theft.

Police identified Isa as a suspect and questioned him some time later. He told officers that the woman had made an agreement with him to use the vehicle as collateral to pay for the cleaning service and that she had signed a bill of sale and the vehicle title. Both documents were submitted to the DMV.

After Isa's arrest, officers stopped by the woman's home to learn more about the alleged arrangement. The woman “vehemently denied” selling her vehicle to Isa and told officers she had paid off the vehicle shortly before it was stolen.

Authorities then contacted the owner of the company Isa worked for to obtain Isa's statement. The woman, who had previously been charged along with Isa, told authorities that the victim had paid in full for the services and had not allowed Isa to use her vehicle as collateral.

A review of records at the DMV revealed that Isa had registered the vehicle on January 24, 2022. Investigators compared the victim's signatures with the signatures on the documents and concluded that Isa had forged the signatures.

The affidavit states that the vehicle was driven 2,896 miles before it was sold to another person for $1 on February 9. Between the day it was first registered and the day it was sold, the vehicle was driven an average of 181 miles per day.

A lawyer for the woman who was originally charged along with Isa said prosecutors had declined to file charges against her in the case.

Isa has since been released from jail on bail and $1,000 bond in both cases. He is due back in court in September and October.

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