Woman jailed for days after Florida cop wrongly accused her of stealing U-Haul, suit says

A Florida police officer’s botched investigation into a stolen U-Haul truck led to a woman’s wrongful arrest and detention in jail, where she endured a full-body cavity search, a new federal lawsuit says.

Karen Maloof, 54, of Atlanta, was separated from her husband and seized by authorities at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport after she was suspected of stealing a U-Haul vehicle in Palm Bay, Florida, in 2022, according to a complaint.

She’s never visited Palm Bay — and didn’t steal the truck, the complaint says. The city, located along Florida’s east coast, is about a 75-mile drive southeast from Orlando.

Instead, “thieves” stole the vehicle using Maloof’s old Georgia driver’s license, which was also stolen in 2017, according to the complaint.

At the request of U-Haul, a Palm Bay Police Department officer pursued criminal charges against Maloof and ignored clear evidence that would’ve prevented her arrest, the complaint says.

Maloof and her husband were waiting to board a plane to Scotland when she was “accosted” by armed federal law enforcement officers with police dogs at the Atlanta airport in May 2023, according to the complaint.

She spent hours in handcuffs inside a detention room at the airport and was arrested on charges of grand theft auto, larceny and fleeing from justice in Florida, the complaint says.

Maloof was then taken to the Clayton County Jail in Georgia, locked in a group holding cell and barred from contacting her family, according to the complaint.

During her more than three-day stay, the complaint says Maloof was subjected to a cavity search in front of other detainees and guards and had her shoes, clothes and underwear replaced with “ill-fitting prison scrubs.”

Maloof was also forced to take a cold, group shower with other inmates, according to the complaint.

She went more than a full day without food until she was “served a plastic bag of rancid lunch meat and wet white bread,” the complaint says.

The night of May 22, 2023, Maloof was ultimately released from custody, according to the complaint.

Maloof is suing the city of Palm Bay, the Palm Bay Police Department and the officer on claims including malicious prosecution and false arrest. The lawsuit was first reported by Florida Politics.

The city and police department didn’t immediately return McClatchy News’ requests for comment Feb. 12.

Maloof and her husband were unable to visit Scotland due to her unlawful detainment, attorney Lee Parks, who represents Maloof, told McClatchy News.

“In 27 years of marriage, the couple had only been to Europe once before,” the lawsuit says.

The ‘grossly insufficient’ investigation

In November 2022, the individuals accused of stealing Maloof’s identity rented a U-Haul moving truck in her name without appearing at the company’s Palm Bay site in person, according to the lawsuit.

They provided U-Haul with a copy of her stolen license, a fake Florida phone number, an unverified email address and a fake Florida home address — which didn’t match the Georgia address on Maloof’s old license, the complaint says.

The “thieves” also shared a “selfie” of a blonde woman to “verify that the renter matched the identification card provided,” according to the complaint.

It was clear the selfie didn’t resemble Maloof’s license photo, despite both women having blonde hair in their pictures, the complaint says.

U-Haul contacted police to report Maloof after the U-Haul moving truck wasn’t returned, according to the complaint.

U-Haul spokesman Jeff Lockridge declined a request for comment from McClatchy News on Feb. 12. He said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

According to the lawsuit, the Palm Bay officer named in the complaint ignored “obvious red flags” supporting Maloof’s innocence and failed to conduct a thorough investigation.

“(The officer) acted with actual malice when he pursued the prosecution of Maloof, despite the fact there was never probable cause to believe Maloof had committed a crime,” the complaint says.

“(His) investigation was grossly insufficient.”

Maloof’s release from jail was secured by a “significant” amount spent on legal fees, according to the complaint.

“All this fear, trouble, and legal expenditure could have been avoided,” the complaint says.

Though the Florida State Attorney’s Office dropped the charges against her on May 31, 2023, the legal ramifications persisted due to the “inter-state nature of the arrest, detainment, and prosecution,” attorney M. Travis Foust, one of Lee’s partners who also represents Maloof, told McClatchy News.

It took “several more months,” Foust said, “to clear all legal warrants and holds that were issued against her before she was able to freely travel without fear of detainment.”

According to the lawsuit, the city of Palm Bay, its police department and the officer are responsible for pain, suffering, emotional distress, anxiety, humiliation, outrage and loss of reputation experienced by Maloof.

She’s seeking a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages.

This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 2:50 PM with the headline "Woman jailed for days after Florida cop wrongly accused her of stealing U-Haul, suit says."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.