'TikTok Trickster' arrested, charged with scamming women, sexually assaulting 11-year-old Texas boy
HOUSTON - The man police refer to as the "TikTok Trickster" was arrested Friday in Kentucky accused of scamming and stealing thousands of dollars from several women across multiple states.
FOX 26 first aired a news report about 54-year-old Brenton Fillers last Monday, April 10. The story was quickly picked up and shared on other FOX platforms across the country.
According to Spanish Fort Police Chief John Barber in Alabama, the media attention led to new victims coming forward in the case and ultimately helped locate and capture the "TikTok Trickster" Thursday at a hospital in Kentucky. The 54-year-old was arrested on Friday, April 15.
"I knew the only way we were going to get him caught, was to get him exposed," said Chief Barber. "We’re very much appreciative of your station running the story. I think it was very much instrumental in getting his capture."
Fillers was located at a hospital in Kentucky under a fake name. Police say he has at least 27 known aliases.
Recently, authorities believe Fillers has been messaging and meeting women from TikTok. Over time, he’d meet with them in-person and gain their trust. Then, police say he would steal thousands of dollars from them and disappear, sometimes taking their vehicle.
"He was still scamming women until the moment his phone was taken away," said Barber. "For him, his phone was his weapon. Until the moment it was taken away, he was actively working and scamming other victims."
According to online records, Fillers has already been convicted at least three times in Texas for charges relating to theft, fraud, and forgery.
"If his lips were moving, he was lying," said William Riley.
Riley got to know Fillers and one of his aliases personally about 10 years ago in Trinity, Texas. According to Riley, he and a man named Bradley Files, had become close friends. However, Riley was unaware his friend, he thought was named Bradley, was actually Brenton Fillers. Eventually, Riley fell for a sob story shared by Fillers and loaned the man $20,000. Then, Fillers disappeared.
"People will say, don’t you feel like an idiot? Don’t you feel like a fool? I’ll say, well, you weren’t there. You didn’t hear his story. You didn’t see him break down and fall over on the couch because his parents had been killed and all this stuff," said Riley. "It [seemed] real."
Fillers was wheeled into a Kentucky courtroom Monday in a wheelchair, so far facing two charges.
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Fillers is accused of theft in Alabama and first degree sexual assault of a child in Texas. Authorities allege Fillers raped an 11-year-old boy in Polk County, TX, not far from Houston.
"I know [the boy] and his mother personally," said Riley. "His mother is now deceased. Before she passed away, I had promised her that I would do everything within my power that he was found and convicted for what he did."
So far, victims from at least four states have come forward to accuse the "TikTok Trickster" of stealing thousands of dollars and more. Authorities from several different agencies continue to investigate while also looking for additional victims.
"I know what all he’s done. He’s a terrible person," said Riley. "If there’s anybody else out there that knows him or has a story, come forward and let these people know."
"There are more victims that are out there," said Chief Barber. "We’re hoping they come forward. This is how we can make the cases on him where this is his last stop."
If you or anyone you know believes to have been victimized by the "TikTok Trickster", you’re urged to contact law enforcement.
"I hope he goes to prison for a long time," said Riley. "He has hurt someone I know. It’s time for someone to do something with him, put him away. Because every time he gets out, he just does it again."