Truly, a picture of a square meal got this Florida couple into quite the legal pickle, reports belgeinfo.com on May 14.
The fraudsters, 44-year-old Nathaniel Troy Maye and 39-year-old Tiwanna Tenise Thomason are accused of stealing literally thousands of identities. The couple was tracked down by Florida police after posting, of all things, a picture of their steak and macaroni and cheese dinner to their Instagram account.
The so-called "food porn" photos are a common moniker used by discerning diners who document their meals with photos and then share them on social media.
These diners aren’t so discerning, as their 12-oz rib eye got them eyeballing a 12-year prison sentence.
Authorities had been following Maye, from Harlem, and Thomason, from Miramar in South Florida, after a tipster told IRS agents that a man named "Troy" had bragged about stealing 700,000 identities.
The photo from Instagram was, for the first time, used as judicial evidence, as it placed Maye and Thomason at the swanky Morton's steakhouse restaurant the night of an alleged data handover.
According to the Sun Sentinel, authorities found 50 identities following the handover at the Fort Lauderdale steakhouse.
But an IRS special agent continued the search online and found an Instagram profile for "TROYMAYE," which shows the steak and noodle dinner.
The couple, who appeared in federal court on Friday, pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and possession of unauthorized access devices.
Source: examiner
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