Palm Beach police arrested a 19-year-old West Palm Beach resident accused of impersonating a parking official and defrauding visitors on Worth Avenue. Ti'Miyah De'Asia Allen allegedly posed as an employee of ParkMobile and the Palm Beach Parking Authority while running a scheme that targeted unsuspecting drivers. The investigation began after victims reported fraudulent charges to police, revealing a calculated effort to steal credit card information from people trying to pay for parking in the upscale shopping district.
According to an arrest affidavit, Allen would approach drivers either before they paid for parking or while they were in the process of paying. She allegedly offered to let them pay approximately $1 for parking instead of the legitimate rate of $5 per hour plus a 40 cent transaction fee. To make the scheme more convincing, Allen carried what appeared to be a legitimate ParkMobile payment device and displayed a fake badge, police say. The convincing appearance of official credentials helped her gain the trust of her targets, many of whom were over 65 years old.
The consequences for victims have been substantial. In one documented case from June 5, a person approached by Allen reported discovering a fraudulent $2,500 charge on their credit card from a company called Health Aid. Police determined that Allen's illegal operation resulted in the town losing parking fee revenue that should have been legitimately collected. The affidavit explicitly noted this financial impact on municipal finances in addition to the direct harm to individual victims.
This is not Allen's first brush with law enforcement involving financial fraud. Police say she was involved in a similar scheme the previous year while working at a Wawa location on Belvedere Road. During that incident, she allegedly voided customer transactions for profit. The pattern of fraudulent behavior led authorities to bring multiple charges against Allen in connection with the Worth Avenue scheme. She faces charges including falsely impersonating an officer, organized scheme to defraud, and unlawful use of a badge or other indicia of authority. These charges reflect the premeditated nature of the operation and her deliberate use of false credentials to carry out the scam.