NY Instagram influencer sues for $30 million after NYPD wrongly used a pic of her on a wanted poster

An Instagram influencer has filed a $30 million lawsuit against the New York Police Department after they mistakenly used a photo of her on a wanted poster for a thieving hooker. 

Eva Lopez, 31, of Queens, said she was on vacation in Florida on August 16, 2021, when she saw the wanted poster featuring the photo of her, the New York Post reported. 

The poster shows Lopez, a bartender and fashion influencer, posing in a pink tube top and claims she is wanted for grand larceny after allegedly going on an escort service with a customer and stealing his roommate’s $13,000 Rolex watch and credit card.    

Lopez said she contacted the NYPD, who allegedly told her they knew about the error and had taken down all the posts with her photo – but Lopez said the damage had already been done. 

‘It was already spread around on social media. … It was still being passed around, still being talked about, still making me look like a thief and a prostitute,’ Lopez told the Post. 

The botched poster features a pic of Lopez and said she is wanted for a crime she did not commit. The lawsuit states the NYPD knew about the error and quickly removed it

Lopez claims the poster has hurt her reputation and caused her sleepless nights as he desperately tried to defend herself as the poster was shared online

The NYPD declined to comment on the case. The city’s Law Department said it would review the lawsuit 

According to the lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday, the ‘incident has damaged Ms. Lopez'[s] personal reputation in her neighborhood and has damaged her professional reputation in her employment.’

It claims Lopez spoke about the error with East Village Detective Kevin Dwyer, who said the victim of the grand larceny case showed police pictures of Lopez when identifying the suspect. 

The crime took place in Manhattan on August 3, 2021, but Lopez was in Queens that day. 

Lopez claims the error took a toll on the image she had built up on social media with her more than 865,000 Instagram followers as she tried to explain her innocence. Her Instagram page was set to private after the lawsuit was filed. 

‘People didn’t think I was being honest,’ she told the Post. ‘It was just really, really embarrassing, not only for me but for my family, as well.’ 

Lopez’s attorney, Mark Shirian, said in the lawsuit that the case ‘has caused and continues to cause Ms. Lopez severe mental anguish and emotional distress. Ms. Lopez was unable to sleep for weeks after the incident.’

Lopez’s attorney said the incident caused her ‘mental anguish’ and ’emotional distress’

Lopez said the error took a toll on the image she had built up on social media with her more than 865,000 Instagram followers

He added that the suspect was most likely using Lopez’s social media pics to hide her identity and connect with victims. He also condemned the NYPD for using the photo of Lopez. 

‘The NYPD should commit to more thorough investigations before haphazardly accusing and identifying innocent people of fantastic lies and brazen crimes,’ Shirian told the Post.    

Lopez did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.