MIAMI — A social media personality known for selling high-end sneakers to celebrities and other wealthy clients stole a man's phone at a South Florida hotel before his entourage beat the man up, prosecutors said.
Benjamin Kapelushnik, 21, known on Instagram and other social media as Benjamin Kickz, was arrested Thursday and charged with strongarm robbery, according to a Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office news release.
The theft occurred New Year’s Eve at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, investigators said.
A 19-year-old man and some friends were hanging out in the hotel's lobby when Kapelushnik and his entourage accused the man of taking Kapelushnik's photo without his permission, officials said.
The other man denied taking the photo, but Kapelushnik followed him outside and eventually snatched the man's phone, prosecutors said. Members of Kapelushnik’s entourage then attacked the man, leaving him seriously injured, officials said.
One of the victim's friends was able to retrieve the phone.
Prosecutors didn't immediately announce charges against members of Kapelushnik’s entourage. Online court records didn't list an attorney for Kapelushnik who could speak on his behalf.
The Associated Press
