A social media influencer with a large number of followers has been arrested for allegedly planning and staging her own kidnapping for the sake of gaining more popularity on the internet.
Monniky Fraga was arrested on Tuesday morning, nearly a year after the alleged kidnapping incident in April 2025.
According to the police investigation, the case was suspicious from the outset, as the victim had contacted the police to report the incident. The police suspected that the victim fabricated the case to attract more public attention.
Fraga had spoken to several media houses about the incident.
Detective Cley Anderson stated that the investigation indicated the kidnap for ransom was a plot by the victim and one other person.
“As the investigation progressed, it found indications that the alleged kidnap-for-ransom was in fact nothing more than a plot between the supposed victim and one of the perpetrators,” he stated.
The investigation involved 30 police officers and resulted in the arrest of two suspects and the search of two properties.
According to the police investigation, three other people, in addition to Fraga, were involved in the plot.
“The investigation suggests she not only knew about it, but agreed things in advance and stayed in contact with one of those involved afterwards,” stated Anderson.
One of the accomplices is already in prison for another crime, another was killed before he could be arrested, and the third person, who is suspected of receiving the ransom money, had his property searched in Várzea Paulista.
In a surprising turn of events, Lucas, the husband of Fraga, who was also supposed to be a victim of the supposed kidnapping, was beaten and robbed, but is suspected of not being aware of the whole scheme.
“At all times, he has maintained that he genuinely believed it was a real kidnapping,” Anderson said.
Fraga, in a video posted on social media, claimed that three men, all armed, approached them outside their home in Igarassu, Brazil, and demanded a ransom. The men, she claimed, threatened to torture them if they did not pay the ransom, beat Lucas, and took all of their belongings, after which they were taken to a wooded area where they were kept for hours.
However, after the supposed ransom was paid, they were released, which prompted a police investigation.
Despite all of this, Fraga, who has over 48,000 followers on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, claims that the whole incident was real.
Her lawyers have asked for her release from custody and for her to be placed on house arrest since she needs to attend to her young children.
She is charged with blackmail, perverting the course of justice, and wasting police time.
