Peet Viljoen Throws His Wife Mel Viljoen Under the Bus During Bail Application: “I Was Not Involved”

• Peet Viljoen blames his wife, Mel Viljoen, for their arrest in the United States shoplifting incident
• Social media erupts as Peet distances himself from shoplifting allegations amidst ongoing fraud investigations
• CCTV footage contradicts Peet's claims, showing his significant involvement in the alleged shoplifting incident

Former reality TV star Peet Viljoen threw his wife, Mel Viljoen, under the bus, saying that she was responsible for the incident that led to their arrest in the United States. He made the allegations as his bail application officially got underway in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court.

Peet appeared before the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, for his bail application. The hearing had initially been set for Friday, 26 June 2026, but was postponed after the disbarred lawyer dismissed his legal representative and appointed senior counsel to handle his bail application. In the meantime, however, Advocate André Steenkamp has been reappointed after Peet's new legal representative fell through.

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Peet Viljoen blames Mel Viljoen for alleged US shoplifting incident

During the proceedings, Advocate André Steenkamp read out Peet Viljoen's affidavit explaining why he believes he should be granted bail. Addressing the couple's arrest in the United States, Peet claimed he had no involvement in the alleged shoplifting incident, saying it was his wife who handled the payments that led to the case.

“Regarding the arrest mentioned earlier, my wife and I were, however, arrested in a matter regarding the failure of payments at a retail store. I was not involved in these payments made; my wife was,” Advocate Steenkamp said.

Watch the video below:

How SA reacted to Peet Viljoen blaming his wife

Peet Viljoen's attempt to distance himself from the alleged US shoplifting incident quickly sparked debate on social media.

Here are some of the comments:

@AlisonS61992286 said:

“These two are what you would call con artists. She no doubt agrees or suggested it to him. Shoplifting in the US is a lot less of a charge than all the fraud these two have participated in. He lied about his father having cancer to get deported. Enough said. Pathological liar.”

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@DerrickNka81563 remarked:

“These two were meant for each other. No coincidence.”

@_Chanteh shared:

“I did say that the ‘Tell All’ book that’s coming here is gonna be fire.”

@SbuMpungose laughed:

“So, they’ve decided to deploy the classic finger-pointing defence strategy, blaming each other. 😂”

Peet Viljoen accused of lying to get deported

Peet Viljoen is expected to return to the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday, 23 July 2026, after the matter was postponed to allow his legal team to file responding papers.

During Wednesday's proceedings, the prosecution argued that Peet is not a suitable candidate for bail. The State alleged that he misled US authorities while seeking deportation by claiming his father had prostate cancer. The investigating officer allegedly called Peet's sister, who denied that their father had the illness.

The court also heard that, despite Peet stating in his affidavit that he has no pending criminal matters, investigators are currently probing several fraud cases against him and Mel Viljoen relating to the alleged fraudulent sale of Tammy Taylor nail salon franchises.

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How Mel and Peet Viljoen allegedly stole groceries

Despite Peet Viljoen's claim that his wife acted alone in the alleged shoplifting, CCTV footage reviewed by law enforcement authorities showed that he played a significant role, as previously reported by Briefly News.

Mel Viljoen told Boca Raton police officers that she acted alone and stole the items because she was in ‘survival mode’ since she is unemployed and immigrated to the United States without a visa.

Source: Briefly News