A North Miami seller agreed to meet a Facebook Marketplace buyer for a simple sale of a $2,200 Cuban link chain. Instead, police say the encounter ended with the buyer wearing the chain around his neck, filming a quick video, and sprinting away on foot before any money ever changed hands.
The suspect, identified as 26-year-old Cornelius Douglas, allegedly posed as an interested buyer and showed the seller a fake Cash App confirmation screen to convince him the payment had gone through, according to Tampa Free Press. The seller placed the chain around Douglas's neck, and Douglas then asked him to record a short video of him wearing it — a request that bought him just enough time before he took off running, per the outlet. The Cash App payment was never actually completed, and the seller was left with nothing but footage of the man who allegedly ripped him off.
The seller later identified Douglas from a police photo lineup, the same report notes. Local 10 also reported that Douglas asked the victim to record video of him wearing the chain, corroborating the sequence of events described in the arrest report, which detailed the alleged theft and fake payment scheme.
A Familiar Playbook: Watch Theft Traced to June
This was not, according to investigators, an isolated incident. North Miami police linked Douglas to a similar Facebook Marketplace transaction from June 2026 in which he allegedly grabbed an Audemars Piguet luxury watch directly from a seller before fleeing on foot, the same report states. Douglas is then accused of selling that stolen watch to a pawn shop for just $300 — a staggering markdown for a brand whose pre-owned pieces typically start around $28,000 to $30,000 on the secondary market, according to SwissWatchExpo.
That rapid, deep-discount liquidation was part of the reported transaction. Florida's pawnbroking law contains provisions governing pawn transactions, per the Florida Senate statute. The available account does not establish whether Douglas's pawn transaction involved a separate offense.
Prior Record Includes Broward Child Abuse Case
Douglas has a prior criminal record that includes a child abuse charge out of Broward County, per a local media summary of police reports. He has since posted bond and faces a grand theft charge tied to the chain theft. Under Florida Statute § 812.014, stealing property valued between $750 and $20,000 — which covers the $2,200 chain — is classified as third-degree grand theft, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to the Florida Senate.
Why Meetup Scams Keep Working
Fake payment confirmation screens can trick online sellers into handing over merchandise before funds actually land in their accounts. Sellers should check their own banking apps directly rather than trust what a buyer's phone displays. Updated guidance underscores why victims in these cases often have little recourse: peer-to-peer services like Cash App generally treat completed or authorized transactions as final and do not guarantee refunds when a buyer deceives a seller, according to Private Internet Access.
This is not the first time Hoodline has covered a Facebook Marketplace meetup gone wrong in the Miami area. Back in July, we reported on a driverless camera heist in which a seller lost a $4,000 camera to a similar snatch-and-run scheme on North Miami Avenue.
Police Point Sellers Toward Safe Exchange Zones
Safe exchange zones can provide video surveillance for transactions like OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace sales, according to the SafeTrade Station List.
Some law-enforcement agencies have established monitored safe-exchange locations. For sellers weighing whether to meet a stranger from an app in their driveway, the message from North Miami investigators is straightforward: use the cameras, use the daylight, and never hand over the goods until the money has actually cleared.
