Florida woman behind alleged $100,000 Rolex heist after 'seducing man in casino'

A woman allegedly seduced and then sedated a man to get her hands on his pricey watch - and police suspect that he isn't her first victim.

Lynda Mae Crouse, 32, was taken into custody on Friday (11 September) by cops in Florida after being accused of stealing Rolex worth almost $100,000 (£74,250) from a bachelor who she met at a bar.

Her victim has claimed that he began to feel 'funny' shortly after they headed back to his home in Hallandale Beach, before waking up hours later to discover his timepiece had vanished.

Crouse was booked into jail last week, according to Broward County arrest records, in relation to the alleged robbery that took place on 12 April this year.

Police investigating her supposed scheme to swipe the man's watch said that the pair met at the Carousel Club at Gulfstream Park at around midnight, before swapping their Instagram handles.

They each went their separate ways but are said to have struck up a conversation over the social media site, leading the bloke to send an Uber to collect Crouse and transport her to his pad.

Police suspect Lynda Mae Crouse has several victims (Broward County Sheriff's Office)

After consuming a few alcoholic drinks, but not enough to 'black out', the man told police he soon started to feel strange.

An affidavit seen by Law and Crime states: "He began to feel 'funny' and he became extremely tired and he heard a clapping sound coming from the living room area.

"When he returned to the living room the defendant appeared to be acting different and advised she was going to leave and go home. The victim was becoming increasingly tired and confused and fell asleep within minutes of the defendant leaving his residence."

How he realised his Rolex had vanished

According to the fella whose watch went AWOL, when he woke up hours later, he still felt 'funny' - and then began to panic when he 'remembered the clapping sound he had heard prior'.

He twigged that this noise might have come from the opening and closing of the box that contained his gold 40 mm Rolex Presidential and then 'rushed' to check it.

The timepiece, which police said featured 'baguette diamond hour markers and round diamonds covering the entire bezel', had disappeared.

The watch retails at $74,350 (£55,190) and the man showed police a signed appraisal which valued it at $98,400 (£73,044), the affidavit said.

After weighing up a six-person photo lineup, the victim identified Crouse as the alleged thief.

While investigators were digging into the case, police said that they stumbled across four other incidents involving Crouse in Miami-Dade County which have all of the same hallmarks.

The man raced to the box containing his Rolex to discover it was empty after he invited the 32-year-old back to his home (Getty Stock Image)

The men have each claimed that they met her while wearing flashy watches, headed home and later woke up feeling like they had been drugged.

Like the latest alleged victim, they then came to and discovered that their timepieces had been taken.

One of these blokes had a toxicology screening, which revealed that he had a a prescription sleep aid known to cause sedation, confusion and memory impairment - named zolpidem - in his system, the affidavit said.

Police are now investigating this alleged pattern of crime.

"The defendant appears to have intentionally given the victim a similar substance as the one found in the City of Miami's investigation, and when the victim woke up, the defendant and his watch were gone," cops said.

"The defendant knowingly and intentionally obtained the victim's property and did so with the intent to permanently deprive the victim of his right to his property and to appropriate it for the defendant's own use."

The New York Post reported that Crouse was charged with grand theft, while she paid her bond that had been set at $2,000 (£1,484).