Imagine calling the cops on your own fake kidnapping just to watch the follower count explode. That’s exactly what Brazilian influencer Monniky Fraga is accused of doing. In April 2025, she and her husband Lucas were supposedly ambushed by three armed men near their home in Igarassu, Brazil. Monniky later posted dramatic stories to her tens of thousands of followers, describing how the men forced them into another car, drove them to a forest by a river, and demanded ransom while threatening to shoot them.
She told followers she begged for her life, thinking only of her children. Her husband was reportedly beaten during the ordeal. After their families paid the ransom, the couple was released. Lucas immediately went to the police.
But the investigation quickly fell apart. Phone records showed Monniky had been in contact with one of the “kidnappers” before and after the event. Police concluded the whole thing was a staged plot between Monniky and at least one accomplice to boost her online fame. Her husband, it turns out, was the only real victim—he had no idea it was fake and genuinely feared for their lives.
Nearly a year later, in March 2026, Monniky was arrested on charges of extortion, procedural fraud, and filing a false police report. One accomplice is in custody, another died last year, and the third is still on the run.
Influencer Allegedly Stages Her Own Kidnapping at Gunpoint for Attention
