A social media influencer in Brazil was arrested after reportedly staging her own kidnapping last year. Authorities believe she did it to gain more followers online.
Monniky Fraga reported that in April 2025, she and her husband, Lucas, were approached by three armed men after returning home in Igarassu.
I initially worried they were going to steal my car. But when they told us to leave and get into a different vehicle, I realized the situation was far more dangerous, she explained in a video.
Monniky shared on TikTok and Instagram that she and her husband were kidnapped and taken to a forest, where their captors tortured them while demanding money for their release.
After the family paid a $100,000 ransom, the couple was freed, and the police began investigating. It turned out the entire kidnapping had been faked by the influencer herself.
Influencer’s husband beaten and robbed as she allegedly worked with “kidnappers”
As part of the ‘Smokescreen of Likes’ investigation, police reviewed phone records and discovered Monniky had been communicating with one of the people who took the victim.
Detective Cley Anderson stated that the investigation revealed the alleged kidnapping wasn’t a real crime. It appears the ‘victim’ and one of the people accused of the kidnapping had actually planned it together.
The investigation indicates she wasn’t just aware of what happened, but actively participated in planning it and continued communicating with one of the people involved after the fact.
Police also believed the story was created to help Fraga gain more followers by attracting media coverage.
Police say the victim faked her own kidnapping to get more attention on social media.
Police also stated that the husband, Lucas, who was attacked and robbed, wasn’t aware his wife was involved in the crime.
Anderson stated that the man consistently maintained his sincere belief that a real kidnapping had occurred.
One suspect is already in jail on an unrelated charge, another has died before police could arrest him, and a third, thought to have received the ransom money, had their home searched in Várzea Paulista.
Fraga has been charged with blackmail, perverting the course of justice, and wasting police time.
She insists the story is accurate, and her legal team is requesting her release so she can be with her young children.
This isn’t the first instance of an influencer staging a fake kidnapping. A TikToker from France confessed to fabricating his dog’s abduction earlier this year, claiming it was done for entertainment purposes.
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2026-03-31 18:20