Austin Woman Walks Out of Ross. Then Workers Accuse Her Of Shoplifting

An Austin woman is outraged after being accused of stealing from an area Ross Dress for Less on a day she insists she was at work. Here’s what happened.

TikTok creator Frenchimom (@frenchiemomtx) posted a series of videos last week about the incident. “OK, yeah, this is an update on how I got kicked out of Ross,” she says to start the first video.

She explains that she and her boyfriend visited a South Austin Ross on Monday, Jan. 6. During that trip, she went to the dressing room to try on a pair of pants. As she exited, she was surprised to hear someone calling her. It was an employee who confronted her about allegedly being in the store the day before.

Austin Woman Accused of Shoplifting at Ross… On a Day She was at Work

In a second video, she says the employee told her that she was shopping there yesterday and was caught on camera stuffing clothes into her purse. “And I said, ‘I was never here yesterday,’ which was Sunday. I worked on Sunday,” she says.

Then she says one of the employees started recording her on his phone. Frenchiemom’s boyfriend asked to see the video footage the store supposedly had, but both employees allegedly refused. “They’re proceeding to tell me, ‘No, you have to leave the store,’” she says.

In a third video, she says she even tried to give her boyfriend the clothing she wanted to purchase, but the employees allegedly told her that they both had to leave. She says she asked them yet again to please review the footage so they could see that she isn’t the person who was in the day earlier.

In a fourth video, Frenchimom asks that her thieving doppelganger please reveal herself and take responsibility so that she can go back to Ross without incident.

What Should You Do If You’re Wrongfully Accused of Shoplifting?

Unfortunately, a store employee wrongfully accusing someone of shopping is not an uncommon occurrence in the United States. In 2024, Walmart was forced to pay an Alabama woman $2.1 million after she was falsely accused of shoplifting in one of its stores. The same year, a Florida couple sued the company after they were wrongfully stopped under suspicion of theft.

If something like this happens to you, the first thing to remember is to stay calm. According to Azhari LLC, this generally happens due to either a mistaken identity situation, a misunderstanding with overworked or unrestrained staff, imprecise surveillance systems, and even employee overreach. And it actually seems like Frenchimom did everything you’re supposed to do in this kind of scenario, including not admitting any wrongdoing and requesting evidence. The wrongfully accused should also cooperate with any subsequent police investigation and, if necessary, speak to a lawyer.

Patch contacted Frenchimom via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We also contacted Ross Dress for Less via online contact form for comment.

@frenchiemomtx