Influencer arrested for allegedly staging her own kidnapping for clout

A Brazilian content creator was arrested by authorities for allegedly faking her own kidnapping in an attempt to increase her social media following.

According to Brazilian outlet Globo, Monniky Fraga, 27, was arrested on Tuesday, March 24, after telling her 48,000 followers online that she and her husband were abducted by armed men who demanded their belongings. 

Fraga claimed that they were taken to a forest and were forced to pay ransom. 

Police, however, suspect that the incident was staged after an investigation. "As the investigation progressed, it found indications that the alleged kidnap-for-ransom was in fact nothing more than a plot between the supposed victim and one of the perpetrators," Detective Cley Anderson said.

Fraga’s husband was not part of the plan and believed the kidnapping was real, per Anderson.

"At all times, he has maintained that he genuinely believed it was a real kidnapping," he said.

The case involves three men, with one murdered and another still under scrutiny.

Fraga is facing multiple charges, including blackmail and obstruction of justice, while her legal team is seeking to have her placed under house arrest since she has children.