Food Porn Busts ID Thieves: Food Photo Helps Authorities Catch Identity Thieves
A so-called food porn photo has led to the bust of a pair of ID thieves in Florida last week.
Nathaniel Troy Maye, 44, and Tiwanna Tenise Thomason, 39, are accused of the identity theft of thousands of people, but were eventually tracked down by Florida police after they posted a "food porn" photo on Instagram.
Food photos are very popular among food lovers who like to document the foods that they've tried and tasted, and share the images with others on social media sites. However, this particular photo, of a steak and macaroni and cheese, ended up getting the two suspected identity thefts caught.
Maye, from Harlem, and Thomason, from Miramar in Florida, were being tracked by investigators after an anonymous person tipped off the IRS that a man named "Troy" had been boasting about stealing as many as 700,000 identities, according to The New York Daily News.
The Instagram "food porn" photo allowed authorities to identify that the couple had been at the much-heralded Morton's steakhouse restaurant in Fort Lauderdale on the evening of an alleged data exchange. The photo will now be used as evidence against the pair.
Authorities have reported that they found the pair had stolen 50 identities, according to the Sun Sentinel.
The couple appeared in a Florida federal court on Friday where they pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and possession of unauthorized access devices. They could be imprisoned for up to 12 years.
