A reality television star and her husband have been arrested after authorities say the couple stole more than $5,000 worth of groceries from a Florida supermarket.
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Melany Viljoen, 39, and her husband, Petrus "Peet" Viljoen, 57, were taken into custody on Tuesday, March 10. They were arrested in connection with a series of alleged thefts at a Publix store in Boca Raton.
Police stopped the couple during a traffic stop while they were driving a black Range Rover. It's the same vehicle investigators say was used during the alleged thefts.
Reality TV Star Arrested After Alleged Grocery Theft Scheme
According to arrest records cited by PEOPLE, Melany and Petrus were charged and are currently being held on a $10,000 bond.
Authorities believe the couple carried out the scheme with a third individual.
Investigators allege the couple conducted 52 separate transactions between August 2025 and March 2026. They used what is known as a "ticket-switching" tactic, according to CBS 12 News.
The method involves scanning low-priced items while placing higher-priced products in bags or bypassing the final point of sale altogether.
Surveillance footage and transaction data reportedly showed that 392 items were not scanned. 369 of those instances were captured on store CCTV footage.
"Police documents state the couple repeatedly returned to the store even after the investigation began," CBS 12 News' Skylar Shepard wrote. "In several incidents, officers said Peet Viljoen distracted employees while Melany allegedly carried out the thefts at the self-checkout.
"Items reported stolen included sparkling water, wine, soda, toilet paper, produce, and other groceries, often with only a small portion of the order actually paid for."
Couple Disputes Allegations as Investigation Continues
During questioning, Petrus reportedly denied the ticket-switching accusations even after being shown surveillance footage.
Melany, meanwhile, told detectives that she had acted alone.
She said she was operating in "survival mode" after being unable to work in the United States due to visa restrictions.
Investigators, however, say the surveillance footage contradicts her claim that she acted alone, pointing to evidence suggesting both were involved.
Detectives estimate Publix's total loss at $5,302 as of March 10. The couple has been charged with aggravated grand retail theft exceeding $3,000 under Florida law.
According to PEOPLE, the investigation remains ongoing after the outlet contacted Boca Raton Police for further comment.
They have rooked me on their 'buy 2 and get 1 free' often. I always check, then go challenge them...
I suppose anything is possible. With hundreds of stores in varying unique markets, all with thousands of products stocked and constantly re-stocked day and night, and grocery stores wholesale cost in constant flux, and about 100 sale items changing weekly, and then factor in the thousands of customers daily (hourly) and those thousands upon thousands of transactions each minute (each second) and much more in the realm of things that can go wrong but must go right (I could go on with more things, but I won't.) And all of it subject to computer glitches, and human error, and who knows what...Well, mistakes are going to happen. Mistakes. Any high volume business is subject to this. But the systematic, by design, completely intentional practice of outright cheating of customers as a means to make a profit is virtually unheard of. Because it would be stupid. A recipe for disaster. So...I don't buy this lady's story. Something is not right. I don't think Publix did this. And actually, I would say this if it was any grocery store, but especially Publix. After all, Publix has the Publix promise, and the Publix Guarantee. I don't think any other grocery chain in the U.S. has a higher level of standard customer protection and customer satisfaction policies than Publix. Publix has a guarantee that it "will never knowingly disappoint you"...If a purchase doesn't satisfy the customer, return the item for any reason, or NO REASON, and the full purchase price will be refunded. And the "Publix Promise" guarantees that if during checkout, the scanned price of an item (excluding alcohol and tobacco products) exceeds the shelf price or advertised price, Publix will give the customer one of that item free. (And will charge the lower price for any remaining items.) So, this lady should have got her $17.48 pork loin FOR FREE! And all those other items she has been overpaying were free too. All she had to do was point out the price discrepancy which would have been obvious. And also, blatant fraud. Yes, fraud...not deception, is what Koutouzis is apparently alleging. If true, the incident(s) she claims to be a victim of would be (in my opinion) criminal fraud under Florida statute 501.135. I am not a lawyer and no...I don't work for Publix. Anything is possible, I suppose. But I say...this story don't pass the smell test for me.