Petaluma, California - An influencer was convicted of making a false report of a crime on Thursday after claiming in a viral video that a Latino couple had tried to kidnap her two children.

In December 2020, Katie Sorensen (31) caused a stir on Instagram with a video in which she detailed how a couple allegedly tried to kidnap her children, The New York Post reported.

The Californian claimed she and her children had been at a Michael's craft store when a couple tried to grab her stroller and children in the parking lot.

"My children were the targets of an attempted kidnapping," Sorensen claimed in the now-deleted video on her IG account, motherhoodessentials. "I want to share that story with you in an effort as to what signs to look for and encourage parents to be more aware of their surroundings and what is going on around them."

The clip got a lot of attention, and the mother of two was even invited by a local news station for an interview, where she retold the story and identified the alleged perpetrators: Sadie and Eddie Martinez.

Sorensen told law enforcement on December 7, 2022, that she "did not want anyone arrested but wanted to draw attention to the concerning behavior exhibited by the couple," according to a Petaluma Police Department press release.

Discrepancies between her original account and the tale she told on Instagram raised authorities' suspicions of the self-proclaimed "momfluencer."

At the time Sorensen made her allegations, there was not enough evidence to establish a crime had been committed, but police began investigating after the influencer posted her viral video on December 14, 2020.

During the course of the investigation, they determined Sorensen had made up the story, and she was charged with two misdemeanor counts of false reporting of a crime in April 2021.

Last Thursday, Sorensen was found guilty and remanded into custody, with her bail set at $100,000.

"This verdict will enable us to hold Ms. Sorensen accountable for her crime, while at the same time helping to exonerate the couple that was falsely accused of having attempted to kidnap two young children," said Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez.

"The case is also important in that it illustrates the importance of using social media responsibly," she added.

The Martinez couple, who have children of their own, spoke out about the incident back in December 2020, asking, "Do you really think it’s OK to go online and be racist and make stories about a family?"

"It’s hard enough to be a Latin family in a white community."