BOCA RATON, Fla. — A South African reality television couple known for their appearances on ‘The Real Housewives of Pretoria’ has been charged with aggravated grand retail theft after police say they stole more than $5,300 worth of merchandise from Publix stores in South Florida over a six-month period.
Petrus “Peet” Jacoba Viljoen and Melany Viljoen are accused of using a “ticket switching” scheme — repeatedly swapping price tags or scanning inexpensive seasoning packets in place of higher-priced items at self-checkout lanes, according to a Boca Raton Police Department arrest affidavit.
A Publix data analyst flagged suspicious transactions linked to the couple’s debit and credit cards between Aug. 29, 2025, and Feb. 8, 2026. Surveillance footage allegedly showed the pair concealing seasoning packets under assorted goods to avoid scanning them, resulting in hundreds of unpaid items…