Fitness Influencer Tried To Sweep Officer's Leg During Arrest, Police Say
A Florida-based fitness influencer allegedly distributed nude photos of a woman dating her ex-boyfriend in an attempt to humiliate her — and then tried to sweep the leg of a police officer while resisting arrest.
Stefanie Cohen Magarici, 32, better known as Stefi Cohen to her 1 million followers on Instagram, was arrested Tuesday on multiple charges after the victim told Miami police last year that Cohen had accessed her boyfriend’s laptop, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by HuffPost.
Cohen had learned in March 2022 that her ex was dating the victim, and allegedly gained unauthorized access to his computer — which was left at Cohen’s home — by guessing his “commonly used passwords,” authorities said.
Cohen obtained the victim’s “sexual photos” from the man’s iCloud account and distributed them to various group chats that included Cohen, the victim, and “several other girls” as members, according to the affidavit. The victim told police that Cohen sent the “nude photos with the purpose of exposing and humiliating” her.
This week, officers spotted Cohen outside her home and informed her that she was under arrest, according to the affidavit. However, police said that Cohen did not comply and started to walk toward her residence at a fast pace.
An officer caught up to Cohen and told her that she was not allowed to enter the home, but Cohen said that she would not go with the police and began to “physically resist,” according to the affidavit.
Cohen allegedly “tensed her arms” and tried to prevent the officer from handcuffing her. Cohen — who first gained fame as a pro boxer — then attempted to sweep the leg of the officer to destabilize them.
After she was handcuffed and placed in a police vehicle, Cohen allegedly attempted to unlock the car door with her toes. In the process, she broke the door’s locking system, police said, but she was ultimately still taken to the station for booking.
Since the incident, Cohen’s Instagram page has been made private. But when another Instagram account shared a post about her arrest, Cohen defended herself in the comments section.
“Anyone can be falsely accused of a crime and arrested,” Cohen wrote. “These are only allegations from a vengeful x-boyfriend. Simply allegations and we will fight it all the way. Stay tuned!”
According to court records, Cohen is charged with offenses against computer users — a felony — as well as misdemeanor sexual cyberharassment, misdemeanor criminal mischief, and resisting arrest without violence.
She has been released on bond and ordered to stay away from the victim and her ex-boyfriend. She is next scheduled to appear in court June 27.
