South African TV Couple Faces Theft Charges, ICE Detention in Florida

A South African couple known from the reality television series The Real Housewives of Pretoria faces felony charges in Florida for a series of retail thefts totaling more than $5,300, with their case complicated by immigration violations that have led to their detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Melany Viljoen, 39, and her husband, Petrus "Peet" Viljoen, 57, were arrested on March 10, 2026, in Boca Raton after police linked them to repeated thefts at a Publix supermarket at 1001 S. Federal Highway. According to court records, the pair engaged in 52 transactions between August 29, 2025, and March 8, 2026, during which they failed to pay for 392 items valued at $5,302.17. Investigators identified the scheme as "ticket switching," where the couple scanned barcodes from cheaper items while bagging more expensive ones at self-checkout lanes. Surveillance video and transaction data confirmed the pattern, with their black 2016 Land Rover Range Rover appearing repeatedly in store footage.

The arrests unfolded separately that morning. Officers pulled over Peet Viljoen during a traffic stop, informing him of the ongoing investigation into thefts dating back to the...