A former parking tollbooth operator has been charged with felony grand theft after authorities said she stole $57,000 in four months from people parking at the Orange County Convention Center ( OCCC ) last year.

Zillah Bell took drivers’ credit cards into her booth and rang up the parking fees to her personal Square account that she had named “Orange County Convention Center.” Except it wasn’t an authorized account, according to Orange County Sheriff’s records.

Bell said she used the Square account to provide for her children, according to her arrest warrant affidavit .

The Convention Center first realized something was wrong in August 2024 when a visitor asked for a parking refund with a receipt that didn’t look like the official one normally given out, the affidavit said.

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