A STORE owner has taken it about himself to publicly shame people who steal from his boutique and a few of them happen to be internet celebrities.
Fraser Ross, owner of Kitson, a department store chain in Los Angeles, has decided to start exposing thieves as a way to deter others from stealing from his business.
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He gathers surveillance footage and information about a thief so he can post them on his Instagram account.
“I guess it’s public shaming, but I don’t know what to do,” Ross told local NBC affiliate KNBC.
“We just came to a point that this is what we have to do.”
Ross has recently gained attention after exposing Sofia Arevalo, who has over 50k followers on Instagram, and her friend Patrick Moogan.
In a video, Moogan allegedly handed Arevalo a hat which she was seen shoving into a Lululemon bag along with Free City clothes while at the Pacific Palisades location.
The initial post was on March 17 and included the surveillance footage of the two friends.
“We will expose the names of the people tomorrow, [the] female has 42k followers and [the] male is dou*** bag around town. They work on shoplifting together,” Ross wrote in the caption of the post.
“Ring Bling 2. Shame them wherever they go. Lots more to all of this. Get your popcorn out. We have done extensive research on them with the help of a loyal follower. Wait until you see the DMs they sent. Leave in comments if you know who they are.”
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The next day, he exposed her name, job, and frequented LA spots to his, now, over 58k followers.
His post included a long message and pictures of her Instagram and evidence that he had collected to prove it had been her in the security video.
“If everyone passes this around businesses around LA can keep her profile and ban her from their establishment if they want as she is a menace to society. Erewhon be very aware,” he wrote in the caption of the post.
“She loves Nobu and all the fancy restaurants. We asked Sofia to come in to pay for the goods but blocked and threatened us.”
Ross also wrote that he filed a criminal complaint against her and the direct messages between Ross and Arevalo as well as Moogan’s exposure would be posted at a later date.
Arevalo’s once booming social media presence has now gone dark as she made her Instagram private.
“When you see all these smash-and-grabs, you aren’t seeing your usual suspects,” Ross explained.
“They’re very wealthy people with expensive cars, expensive jewelry, expensive handbags, living the life of luxury.”
I’M SORRY
Ross told the outlet that Arevalo went back to his store and returned two shirts and paid for the hat she initially stole.
Anisha Tedake, another shoplifter at the same location, reimbursed almost $1,000 in stolen items after she was exposed online.
When you see all these smash-and-grabs, you aren’t seeing your usual suspects. They’re very wealthy people with expensive cars, expensive jewelry, expensive handbags, living the life of luxury.
Fraser Ross
Police are aware of both incidents but Ross wants something more to be done to prevent future crimes like these.
“It’s not enough to say it’s gone,” he said. “You need to arrest anyone that’s stealing and put that message out there.”
SELF-CHECKOUT SCAMS
A Walmart shopper tried to allegedly steal almost $800 while scanning their items at checkout.
Police were called by a location in Cortlandville, New York, about 40 miles south of Syracuse, after a man scanned only a soda to pay for his shopping cart worth $836, according to The Central New York Business Journal.
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Adrian Endsley, 46, was arrested and charged with third-degree burglary, police told the outlet.
Endsley had been previously banned from entering any Walmart before the situation alleged theft, so that was why he was charged with burglary instead of shoplifting, officers noted.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/10905236/kitson-shoplifting-los-angeles-social-media-shame-posts/