A Florida woman and TikTok influencer who allegedly shoplifted about US$500 worth of items from Target and posted her shopping spree on social media, where she has hundreds of thousands of followers, has been arrested, the authorities said.
Marlena Velez, 22, stole the items by scanning false bar codes in the self-checkout of a Target in Cape Coral, Florida, to make the items cheaper, the Cape Coral Police Department said in a news release.
Velez has more than 360,000 followers on TikTok, where she posts content daily about her life.
The Cape Coral Police responded to a call Wednesday at Target for a theft that occurred on Oct 30. According to the news release, Target’s security cameras showed Velez using the false bar codes to steal 16 items of miscellaneous household goods and clothing valued at US$500.32.
The police received an anonymous tip through Instagram after posting on social media a picture of Velez, asking the public for leads; she was unidentified at the time, wearing a tan shirt, tan pants and glasses. The tipster provided the authorities with her name, birthday and Instagram handle, the agency said.
The agency found Velez’s TikTok account, which featured a post from Oct 30 of her getting ready to go to Target and wearing the same outfit as seen on Target’s security video. Velez also recorded herself picking out the items inside the store and then taking them home with her.
“Everything was documented,” Mercedes Phillips, a spokesperson for the department, said in a video posted to the department’s Facebook account. The video appears to have been taken down.
Velez was arrested and charged with one count of petty theft, according to the news release.
Fast Company reported that Velez was released on a US$150 bail and was scheduled to appear in court on Dec 10. – ©2024 The New York Times Company
