Woman who went viral for Poshmark business charged in scheme tied to a fake reality show: Police

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman who went viral for her successful resale business is now accused of an elaborate scheme tied to a fake reality show.

According to court documents, Monette "Mona" Mejia swindled tens of thousands of dollars from resellers by telling them she was starring in an upcoming reality TV show on TLC and was "recruiting Latina women who are into resale" for her show. She's charged with aggregate theft.

Two of her victims, Loretta and Kenneth Cuadra, own a clothing resale store called First Dibs. The couple told ABC13 they had done business with Mejia before. They said they considered her credible because she was featured on many reputable sites, including the New York Times. She had an article written about her in Business Insider titled, "A 44-year-old mom of 3 made $735,000 in a year from a reselling business she launched using just the clothes in her closet."

According to court documents, Mejia told the couple she was looking to have a store to film at and had other consignment stores interested, offering $5,000 store credit and a $4,000 incentive, so they had to make up their mind.

"We thought it was a great business opportunity, great advertisement, so we offered her to shop with us, we would give her store credit, and we even offered her a cash incentive," Loretta said.

Soon, they formed a relationship with Mejia and her husband Victor, who is also charged with theft.

"We trusted them that this show was going to happen, that they extended this opportunity to us, and we were in this to help them," Loretta said.

Court documents state Loretta and Kenneth provided Mejia with inventory for the show valued at $46,000. Some of the designer items included Christian Louboutin shoes, Gucci, and Chanel bags.

According to Loretta and Kenneth, they started to get emails from TLC about what they would pay them for using their location and being involved in the show.

After months of not hearing from TLC and getting pushback from Mejia, they decided to call themselves, and that is when they found out the show was never happening.

"We were heartbroken because we genuinely believed these people," Kenneth said. "We genuinely believed these people were our friends."

According to court documents at least three other women fell for the alleged scam. One of the women told investors she saw it as a good business opportunity.

"One of the reasons we decided to speak up is because of the long list of women out there that were affected," Loretta said.

"There was no remorse. She wasn't going to stop," Kenneth said.

Mejia posted her $10,000 bond, records show. ABC13 spoke to her on the phone, but she said she had no comment.

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