TikTok influencer allegedly filmed herself stealing $500 from Target and posted it

CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WKRC) – A popular TikTok influencer allegedly filmed himself stealing $500 worth of merchandise from Target and posted the evidence for the internet to see.

A loss prevention employee at a Target in Cape Coral, Fla., alerted police on Oct. 30 after they saw a woman piling $500.32 worth of merchandise into her shopping cart.

“Once at the self-checkout register, the female suspect did not scan the bar codes of the items, but instead scanned a fake bar code with cheaper prices,” Cape Coral police said in a news release. They said 16 items were stolen.

Target employees provided authorities with a photo of the woman who stole the item, which police posted on their social media to seek the public’s help.

“An anonymous caller saw the social media post and provided a possible identification of the suspect as Marlena Velez,” the news release states. “The anonymous caller also gave officers Marlena’s Instagram handle.”

22-year-old Marlena Velez’s Instagram led authorities to her popular TikTok profilewhere the officers made a surprising discovery. Velez had reportedly posted a video of her day at Target on Oct. 30 to her TikTok account, which has over 300,000 followers.

“Marlena documents herself selecting items inside the store and placing them in her car after leaving the store,” police said.

Cape Coral Police Department posted a video to his social media accounts with clips from Velez’s TikTok video, which has since been deleted.

Although the video did not appear to show or even reveal the actual shoplifting, police were able to link Velez to the crime through her clothing, the date and the items she “bought” in the video.

Velez was arrested and charged with petit larceny valued at more than $100 but less than $750. Shortly after, she was released on $150 bail.