Two former stars of The Real Housewives of Pretoria are accused of shoplifting thousands of dollars’ worth of groceries from the Boca Raton Publix at 1001 S. Federal Highway.
Petrus Viljoen, 57, and Melany Viljoen, 40, from South Africa, are charged with aggravated grand retail theft following a six-month surveillance by a Publix data analyst.
According to a Boca Raton Police Department affidavit, the couple stole groceries totaling $5,302 during multiple trips to the store. They were arrested on March 10 and were being held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody as of April. The Viljoens gave authorities an address in the 1000 block of Banyan Road on the barrier island.
They are accused of pilfering the goods at self-checkout lanes by scanning lower cost items that were placed below more expensive goods, a practice known as ticket switching, or by simply not scanning the goods.
In a statement to police, Melany Viljoen said she was stealing because she was in “survival mode” and had not worked since coming to the U.S. due to not having a visa.
The arrest affidavit states that both she and her husband are unemployed.
— Mary Hladky
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