A TikTok influencer who allegedly shoplifted about $500 worth of items from Target and posted her haul on the social media app, where she has more than 360,000 followers, has been arrested and charged with petty theft.
A TikTok influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers has been arrested for a second time after police said she shoplifted hundreds of dollars worth of items from a Florida Target store where she was accused of a similar crime.
Marlena Velez, 22, was arrested Saturday on a theft charge in connection with a Nov. 20 theft case, Cape Coral Police said Monday.
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Velez regularly posts content about her life as a mom of two on her TikTok account, where she had more than 360,000 followers.
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According to police, Velez selected items at the store and went to a self-checkout register, where she scanned a false barcode instead of the barcodes on some of the merchandise, police said.
In total, 16 items including household goods and clothing with a value of around $225 were stolen, police said.
Police said officers recognized Velez from her privious arrest and the wallpaper photo on her phone, which is the same as the photo on her Instagram account and from the previous shoplifting case.
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A man who was with Velez during the theft also has a unique tattoo that is the same one seen in some of Velez's TikTok videos, police said.
Velez had been arrested last month in connection with a similar theft case at the same Target.
In that case, from Oct. 30, around $500 worth of household goods and clothing were take with the same false barcode scheme, police said.
Police said they found a video Velez posted on TikTok getting ready on the day of the theft, wearing the same outfit as the woman seen on Target’s security video — a tan shirt, tan pants and glasses. Velez recorded herself picking out the items inside the store and then taking them home with her, police said.
