A Cuban mother and her daughter were taken into custody this Wednesday in Doral, Florida, on accusations of defrauding the dental clinic where they were employed for about a year, according to police reports.
Cynthia Joya, a 53-year-old Cuban national, and her daughter Kaylyn López, a 24-year-old born in Puerto Rico, are each facing charges of third-degree grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, both serious felonies under Florida law.
The owner of Doral Dentistry Specialty Center, located at 7902 NW 36th St., reported that these two employees had been siphoning funds from the business from March 2025 to March 16, 2026.
On the latter date, both women abruptly resigned without notice and subsequently became unreachable, prompting the owner to conduct an internal review of the clinic’s business records and financial transactions.
During this examination, evidence emerged pointing to Joya and López's embezzlement activities over that period.
Details of the Alleged Fraud Scheme
According to police, the scheme involved the employees accepting cash and Zelle payments from the clinic's clients and diverting these funds for personal use instead of recording them for the business.
They also failed to properly schedule client appointments and neglected to submit necessary documentation and reports to insurance companies, leading to financial discrepancies and operational issues for the clinic, as noted in police records.
Investigation and Arrest
The case was assigned to the Economic Crimes Unit of the Doral Police Department. Investigators uncovered a Bank of America account that "both defendants maintained and controlled." The bank later provided documentation and correspondence detailing "multiple Zelle transactions between the accused and the clinic's clients" that were unauthorized by any business owners.
Following their arrest, Joya and López were booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK), where they remained detained as of Thursday afternoon, each with a bail set at $5,000.
Both are individually charged with third-degree grand theft and organized scheme to defraud. The latter charge involves a systematic pattern of fraudulent conduct, which, combined with grand theft, could result in substantial prison sentences if they are found guilty.
Context and Impact
This case adds to a recent series of arrests involving Cubans for fraud in South Florida, with several cases featuring employees with access to payment systems redirecting funds into personal accounts.
Doral, a municipality in Miami-Dade County with a high concentration of Cuban and Latin American residents, is a commercially vibrant area with numerous clinics and health businesses, where this type of internal fraud can be challenging for owners to detect immediately.
Understanding Fraudulent Schemes in South Florida
What charges are Cynthia Joya and Kaylyn López facing?
Cynthia Joya and Kaylyn López are each facing charges of third-degree grand theft and organized scheme to defraud.
How did the alleged fraud scheme work?
The scheme allegedly involved the employees accepting cash and Zelle payments from clients and keeping these funds for personal use instead of accounting for them in the business.
What prompted the investigation into Joya and López?
The investigation was prompted after the women abruptly resigned without notice and became unreachable, leading the clinic owner to review business and financial records.