Fake news: Miami woman impersonated TV stations to scam caterers of free food, cops say

A woman accused of impersonating local media outlet representatives to scam caterers of free food samples and cash for cigarettes and lottery tickets was arrested by Miami Police on Friday.

Police said Cadence Bryant, 52, used phony names when she called two caterers in November 2018 and, more recently, on May 15 and bilked the caterers of $300 in food samples and $200 in cash for bogus events Bryant said were affiliated with Miami TV stations.

Bryant went by “Alice,” the supposed vice president of WSVN 7News, when she called Zubin Fish House on Nov. 13, 2018, and told management she wanted food samples delivered to the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay for a meeting she had planned with about 20 colleagues to celebrate her son’s 50th birthday party, police said.

After the delivery was made, Bryant called the owner of The Fish House and instructed him to visit the WSVN newsroom in North Bay Village for payment and a tour of the facility, police said. He soon realized there was no Alice, and that the news outlet didn’t order any samples.

About six months later, Bryant — now going by “Tiffany” — called up Buffet Creole Elegant Events and Catering Planner in Lauderhill and told owner Marie Ann Hyacinthe that she was affiliated with WPLG Local 10 News and meant to hire Buffet Creole to cater an event, according to an arrest report. Police said she promised a $5,000 deposit fee and a contract agreement worth $25,000.

Police said Bryant met with Hyacinthe at a 99-cent store in Miami, where Hyacinthe handed her $200 for “party supplies” and $50 of food samples, expecting to be reimbursed. Surveillance footage shows Bryant used at least some of the money to pay for lottery tickets and cigarettes.

Bryant told Hyacinthe to collect her payment and the $5,000 deposit at the WPLG newsroom in Hallandale Beach, police said. Employees there informed her that Tiffany didn’t exist, and the event didn’t either.

“Upon the victim’s arrival to the news station, she met with an investigative reporter, and explained why she was there,” police wrote in a statement. “She was informed that they were not having an event and had not requested catering services. The victim was told by the investigative reporter that she was a victim to a scam that has happened numerous times with their news station.”

Miami Police’s Economic Crimes Unit arrested Bryant and charged her with two counts each of organized scheme to defraud and petit theft. Her bond was set at $10,500, according to Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation.

She was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

This story was originally published June 7, 2019 at 9:30 PM.