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Monette Mona Mejia (Newsmax screenshot, mugshot: Harris County Sherif

Monette Mona Mejia (Screengrab via Newsmax, mug shot via Harris County Sherif’s Office)

A 46-year-old woman in Texas who was once featured in Business Insider after she made more than $700,000 from her at-home Poshmark resale store was arrested last week for allegedly swindling multiple local retail stores out of tens of thousands of dollars in an elaborate scam based on a made-up reality television show.

Monette “Mona” Mejia was taken into custody last week and charged with theft of between $30,000 and $150,000 based on the amount of cash and merchandise she allegedly received in the course of her fraudulent ploy, court records show.

According to a probable cause affidavit, the investigation into Mejia began when Kenneth and Loretta Cuadra, who own the First Dibs resale clothing and accessories store in Harris County filed a complaint against Mejia on Sept. 18, 2023.

The Cuadras said that in December 2022, Mejia contacted them about participating in a “fashion reality show” on TLC in which Mejia claimed she had been asked to star, claiming the show would be featured on “Good Morning America.”

Mejia in January 2023 went to First Dibs and told the Cuadras that she was looking for a “consignment store to shop at for the TLC show,” per the affidavit. Mejia asked the Cuadras if they would be interested in having their store featured on the show.

While in discussions over the terms of a proposed deal, Mejia allegedly sent the Cuadras an email stating that TLC was giving her two days to choose a consignment store where the show would film, which police described as “a calculated move to put pressure on the Cuadras to buy into (Mejia’s) scam plan.”

Based on the perceived exposure the store would get through the show, the Cuadras offered Mejia $8,000 in store credit and $2,000 in cash to close the deal. Mejia accepted the deal on Feb. 25, 2023, and said TLC would be in touch with them shortly.

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