CAPE CORAL, FL - According to police, TikTok influencer Marlena Velez, 22, was arrested after allegedly using false barcodes to steal merchandise from a Cape Coral, Florida Target retail location. She had filmed herself preparing for the act. She is now facing petty theft charges for allegedly stealing $500 worth of products from the store on October 30.
As reported by The New York Post, the loss prevention team at the Target store told Cape Coral Police that the suspect, alleged to be Velez, was captured on the store’s surveillance system at a self-checkout register. She was observed scanning a false barcode, which resulted in her being charged less than the prices of the products in her cart. She reportedly did this for 16 items, totaling $500.32 in value.
Velez, a TikTok and Instagram influencer with over 300,000 followers, was identified by an anonymous caller claiming to be one of her followers who compared her social media images to surveillance imagery posted by the Cape Coral PD.
Mercedes Simonds, the CCPD public information officer told Fox 4 Now, “Initially, our officers got a report from Target about this retail theft. They looked into it. They got the security footage. They had a still frame of this woman who’s basically scamming the self check out at target.”
A now-deleted post by Velez to TikTok shows the suspect documenting herself in a "get-ready-with-me" video on the day of the theft wearing the same clothing and glasses that police say she wore in the Target security footage.
Later that day Velez reportedly posted a “day in the life as a mom” video to TikTok, in which she was wearing the same outfit seen in the store’s surveillance footage.
Cape Coral Police Department spokesperson Officer Riley Carter told reporters for The Express Tribune, “She essentially incriminated herself. Social media gave us an unexpected lead, which expedited her identification and subsequent arrest.”
Carter added, “Influencers should face the same consequences as anyone else. Their public image doesn’t exempt them from the law.”
As reported by The New York Post, the loss prevention team at the Target store told Cape Coral Police that the suspect, alleged to be Velez, was captured on the store’s surveillance system at a self-checkout register. She was observed scanning a false barcode, which resulted in her being charged less than the prices of the products in her cart. She reportedly did this for 16 items, totaling $500.32 in value.
Velez, a TikTok and Instagram influencer with over 300,000 followers, was identified by an anonymous caller claiming to be one of her followers who compared her social media images to surveillance imagery posted by the Cape Coral PD.
Mercedes Simonds, the CCPD public information officer told Fox 4 Now, “Initially, our officers got a report from Target about this retail theft. They looked into it. They got the security footage. They had a still frame of this woman who’s basically scamming the self check out at target.”
A now-deleted post by Velez to TikTok shows the suspect documenting herself in a "get-ready-with-me" video on the day of the theft wearing the same clothing and glasses that police say she wore in the Target security footage.
Later that day Velez reportedly posted a “day in the life as a mom” video to TikTok, in which she was wearing the same outfit seen in the store’s surveillance footage.
🚨Florida TikTok Influencer Arrested for Shoplifting at Target
— Kristy Tallman (@KristyTallman) November 27, 2024
Marlena Velez, 22, with over 360,000 TikTok followers, allegedly stole $500 worth of items from a Cape Coral Target using false barcodes. She was charged with petty theft after posting the haul online.#TikTokNews… pic.twitter.com/BGNcCA0Hp9
Cape Coral Police Department spokesperson Officer Riley Carter told reporters for The Express Tribune, “She essentially incriminated herself. Social media gave us an unexpected lead, which expedited her identification and subsequent arrest.”
Carter added, “Influencers should face the same consequences as anyone else. Their public image doesn’t exempt them from the law.”
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