- A TikTok influencer was arrested after an incident involving the theft of $500 of goods from Target.
- Police say they identified Marlena Velez, who has 360,000+ TikTok followers, through a video she posted.
- The video showed her at Target, wearing the same outfit as in the security footage, police said.
A TikTok influencer with over 360,000 followers who posts aspirational videos of her life as a stay-at-home mom has been arrested after police accused her of stealing about $500 worth of items from Target.
Authorities said the momfluencer later posted a video of the ‘shopping’ haul to her followers, which they said helped to identify her.
According to a news release, the Cape Coral Police Department in Florida responded to a report last Wednesday about a theft at a Target store in Cape Coral that occurred on October 30.
Target’s loss prevention team said that an unidentified woman entered the store, selected items, and scanned false barcodes with lower prices instead of the items’ actual barcodes at a self-checkout register.
Police said the woman stole 16 items, including household goods and clothing, worth $500.32.
The Cape Coral Police Department shared photographs of the woman on social media to help identify her.
According to the press statement, an anonymous tip received in response to the photos provided officers with information on 22-year-old social media influencer Marlena Velez and directed them to her Instagram handle.
It said that officers subsequently found Velez’s TikTok account, which included a video showing Velez wearing the same outfit and glasses as the woman in the photos.
In the video, which is no longer available on her TikTok account, police said it showed Velez going to Target, selecting items, and loading them into her car before leaving.
Mercedes Phillips, a Cape Coral Police Department spokeswoman, said in a subsequent video that: “Everything was documented, even the outfit that she wore.”
Phillips added, “It shows her getting ready with the outfit, and even her glasses, and all of that matches in her TikTok with the attempt-to-identify photo that we put out.”
Velez did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office records show that a woman identified as Marlena Valez, with a different spelling but the same birthdate, was booked last Thursday morning.
Records show that she was released later that day on a cash bond of $150.
Read the full article here
