Homestead Man, 21, Busted Twice for Fake-Cash Gold Chain Heists

A Facebook Marketplace sale of a gold chain near a Homestead restaurant turned into a robbery on July 31 when the buyer handed over counterfeit $100 bills marked “motion picture use only” before snatching the chain and running off with an accomplice, according to Homestead police. The victim believed the fake cash was real until after the chain was gone, and investigators say the same 21-year-old suspect has now been tied to a second, nearly identical marketplace jewelry theft weeks earlier.

The July 31 robbery happened around 8 p.m. near a restaurant, according to CBS News Miami, when the victim met a buyer he had connected with through Facebook Marketplace to sell his gold chain. The buyer handed over $2,100 in counterfeit bills, and as the exchange wrapped up, the suspects snatched the chain and fled. Homestead Police Captain Engelbert Guzman said the suspect “used fake money and robbed people in a dark, poorly lit area,” per the outlet's report.

The victim's wife, identified only as Marlene, told CBS News Miami that her husband was robbed while trying to sell the chain, and that the couple had needed extra money after she missed work because of an accident. “Young people out there are targeting honest, hardworking people and taking things they've sacrificed for,” she said, according to the station's report.

Police Link Suspect to Cellphone Left at the Scene

Homestead police shared surveillance video of the July 31 encounter and identified 21-year-old Ludjy Juste as one of the people seen in the footage. According to Homestead Police Department arrest records reported by Local 10 News, investigators say Juste confessed to handing the victim the fake movie money, snatching the chain, and later selling it for $1,400, splitting the proceeds with an accomplice. Police also cited a cellphone the suspect dropped while fleeing as evidence linking him to the scene. Investigators say they are still searching for another person allegedly involved in the robbery, and a 17-year-old suspect seen in the surveillance footage, described as having a tattoo on his left hand, remains unidentified.

Juste was originally taken into custody on August 6 before giving statements to investigators, per the same account. He now faces charges of robbery by sudden snatching, uttering forged bills, and grand theft, according to the CBS News Miami report.

A Second Marketplace Theft Weeks Earlier

Juste was arrested twice in less than a week after police connected him to a separate robbery on June 4 at the Homestead Plaza Apartments, where he allegedly stole a $1,200 gold ring during another arranged Facebook Marketplace meeting, the station's report notes. He had bonded out following his initial arrest before Homestead police tied him to the earlier ring theft using apartment surveillance footage. Following his re-arrest, Juste was held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bond set at $2,500, according to jail records reported by Local 10 News.

The pattern of charges carries real weight under Florida law. Robbery by sudden snatching without a firearm or deadly weapon is a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 812.131, punishable by up to five years in prison, five years of probation, and a $5,000 fine. Uttering forged bills with intent to defraud is likewise a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 831.09, carrying up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Grand theft of property valued between $750 and $20,000 — a threshold lawmakers raised from $300 back in October 2019 — is a third-degree felony under Florida Statute § 812.014, also punishable by up to five years behind bars.

Police Point to a 24-Hour Exchange Zone

Homestead police are urging residents to use the department's designated Internet Purchase Exchange Area, located outside police headquarters at 45 NW 1st Avenue, for any Facebook Marketplace or online sales meetups. The zone is monitored around the clock by police cameras and is secure and well lit, according to the department. Police also advised residents to avoid meeting strangers alone for online transactions and to take precautions during any in-person exchange.

CBS News Miami reported that Facebook Marketplace did not respond to a request for comment on the case. Investigators are asking the public for help identifying the still-unidentified 17-year-old suspect; anyone with information can contact Homestead police at 305-247-1535 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS (8477).

Part of a Wider South Florida Pattern

Counterfeit prop money marked for motion-picture use has surfaced in other South Florida cash scams before. In November 2025, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office warned residents after similar fake $100 bills began circulating in the Florida Keys. Marketplace meetups themselves have also become a recurring target for thieves across Miami-Dade County: in May, the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office arrested two men tied to a string of Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp robberies, and in July, a Miami seller lost a $4,000 camera to a buyer who fled into a driverless Waymo. The Homestead case adds another entry to that growing list, with police again pointing to designated exchange zones as the clearest way to avoid becoming the next victim.