Miya Ponsetto, also known as ‘Soho Karen,’ had a hate crime scrubbed from her record Monday during a Manhattan Supreme Court hearing after going viral for falsely accusing a black teen of stealing her iPhone.
The crime will be erased from her record as part of her plea deal which also kept her out of prison, according to the New York Post. Ponsetto entered her second plea, which included second-degree aggravated harassment charges and a misdemeanor for her actions against 15-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. in December 2020. (RELATED: Alvin Bragg Charges Failed New York Politician Who Allegedly Punched Multiple Young Women With Hate Crimes)
On Dec. 26, 2020, Ponsetto was caught on camera accusing Harrold Jr. of stealing her phone at the Arlo Soho Hotel. Harrold Jr.’s father, Keyon Harrold, filmed the incident and attempted to tell Ponsetto that her phone had been returned by her Uber driver.
In this handout photo provided by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, Miya Ponsetto is seen in a police booking photo. (Photo by Ventura County Shariff’s Office via Getty Images)
Ponsetto agreed to a deal with Manhattan prosecutors and pleaded guilty to unlawful imprisonment as a hate crime, which allowed the crime to be cleared following her completion of counseling and avoiding legal trouble for two years, according to the NY Post. Had she not accepted the plea deal, Ponsetto would have faced up to four years in prison, the outlet reported.
Following the incident Ponsetto appeared on “CBS This Morning” telling anchor Gayle King that she couldn’t be racist because she is also a “woman of color.”
“I wasn’t racial profiling whatsoever. I’m Puerto Rican,” Ponsetto said. “I’m, like, a woman of color. I’m Italian, Greek, Puerto Rican.”
The Harrolds have sued the 26-year-old over the incident in a case still being litigated, according to the NY Post.