*An Instagram influencer is suing the New York Police Department for mistakenly using her photo on a ‘wanted’ poster for a hooker who was robbing clients.
Eva Lopez, 31, filed a $30 million lawsuit against the NYPD “for defamation, libel, slander, intentional infliction of emotional distress.” The New York Post reports.
The Queens native found out she was a wanted woman last August when a friend texted her about the poster. “I thought it was something fake. I really couldn’t believe the police would put me on a wanted poster,” she told the New York Post.
Per The Daily Mail, “The poster shows Lopez, a bartender and fashion influencer, posing in a pink tube top and claims she is wanted for grand larceny after allegedly going on an escort service with a customer and stealing his roommate’s $13,000 Rolex watch and credit card.”
OTHER NEWS: Tom Brady Tired of Retirement! He’s Returning to QB Tampa Bay Next Season
Once NYPD officials were made aware of the issue they reportedly removed the poster. Lopez’s attorney, Mark Shirian, said his client is seeking damages because the incident caused her “mental anguish” and “emotional distress,” per the lawsuit.
The “incident has damaged Ms. Lopez'[s] personal reputation in her neighborhood and has damaged her professional reputation in her employment,” the lawsuit states.
Lopez reportedly attempted to explain the error to her more than 865,000 Instagram followers.
“People didn’t think I was being honest,” she told the Post. “It was just really, really embarrassing, not only for me but for my family, as well.”
Lopez’s attorney said in the lawsuit that the case “has caused and continues to cause Ms. Lopez severe mental anguish and emotional distress. Ms. Lopez was unable to sleep for weeks after the incident.”
Lopez’s attorney believes the imposter used his client’s photos on social media to hide her own identity. The NYPD’s wanted poster “cited an Aug. 3 theft from an East Village apartment, where a man was allegedly robbed by an escort of his $13,000 Rolex, as well as a Chase credit card of his roommate,” per The Daily Mail.
“It was already spread around on social media,” Lopez said. “It was still being talked about making me look like a thief and a prostitute. On Facebook, the [wanted poster] got shared over thousands of times—10,000, 20,000 times. Then on Instagram a lot of blog sites that have millions of followers, they posted it as well.”
Lopez added “I just really want people to know that’s not me, in any way, shape or form. The girl has nothing to do with me.”
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
