The online identity of a North Carolina woman is at the center of a felony extortion case in Florida, WRAL has learned, in which a suspect allegedly used a fictitious social media profile to extort at least one victim out of thousands of dollars.
In Seminole County, Florida, a woman named Beverley Bejarano faces charges of felony extortion and fraud, after investigators connected her financial accounts to a pseudonym “Keisl Mary.”
Public records allege Bejarano was behind at least one account using the fictitious “Keisl Mary”, which entered into a fake online relationship with a victim in Florida who WRAL is not naming. Bejarano is accused of blackmailing that victim out of at least two separate payments of at least $2,000.
“They hijacked my entire being” | NC woman’s persona tied to Florida investigation
For years, Melanie Branch has been receiving messages from unknown people, claiming accounts using photos from her social media pages were contacting them in what they believed were attempted scams.
One of those names used over the years: Keisl Mary.
“That’s a thief,” Branch said. “That’s someone who stole who I am to steal from others.”
Branch previously spoke to WRAL, when she called attention to her difficulties trying to flag the different social media accounts on various platforms, all using her content under different names. The Goldsboro-area mom has built a significant following on social media posting fitness-related content, and has amassed more than 40,000 followers on Instagram.
WRAL spoke to the Florida victim in the Bejarano case, who did not wish to be identified in the story, but confirmed the account in question had used photos of Branch.
It’s currently unclear from court files and attorney records obtained by WRAL how many of the fake fictitious “Keisl Mary” accounts will be tied to Bejarano.
“They hijacked my entire being,” Branch added.
Who is– the real– Keisl Mary?
According to court records in Seminole County, Florida, Bejarano “continued to extort more money” from the victim, using multiple phone numbers to message her between February and April of 2025.
The account that received those payments was traced to Bejarano, who was the alleged account holder, residing in Oregon at the time. She was extradited and brought to Florida May, which is where she now faces charges.
William Scheiner, State Attorney for the 18th Judicial Circuit in Florida which encompasses Seminole County, talked to WRAL about the case.
“You know, the the internet is a wonderful, wonderful tool, but just like every other tool that’s out there, it can be used for good and bad. And the bad side of it is, is it creates a forum and a venue in which people can be taken advantage of really, really easily,” he said.
From a prosecutor standpoint, he said matters like this can be nuanced and complex to navigate. In this matter alone: a suspect was extradited from across state lines in Oregon, for allegedly victimizing a woman in Florida, whilst using social media material of a separate woman in North Carolina.
“My best advice to everyone is, no matter what you’re doing, whether it’s in person or socially, vet the people you’re talking to because you know 30 years ago we didn’t have this social media stuff. We didn’t have those things, you talked to people in public.”
Prevalence of romance and confidence scams
In 2025, the FBI received 675 reported victim cases of confidence and romance scams. It account more than $18 million in victim losses last year. More than 800 North Carolinians fell victim to an identity theft scam over the same window of time.
In 2023, the Federal Trade Commission reported 14% of total losses originated from romance scams, while they made up just 6% of actual loss reports.
What you can do to avoid social media theft
Mayukh Sircar, a data privacy attorney in the Raleigh area, previously told WRAL that cases like this can be tricky. Particularly because of the ease of public information on social media, and that once something is out in the public space, it becomes easy content to abuse.
While it might seem reactive in the moment, Sircar says filing a report as quick as possible is often the best recourse for a scam like this, and can help law enforcement build a case.
“Often we’ll find that person is not the only victim, there might be others who might get looped into it, and all of a sudden what’s one isolated incident it becomes 30 incidents,” he says.
Those can be done through the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, or the FTC if it rises to the level of fraud.
He also said it’s a good idea to:
- File a takedown request, possible through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, available through content sharing sites like Google, YouTube and social media apps.
- Change and alter privacy settings on your social media to make sure fake accounts aren’t following you.