- As part of an ongoing investigation related to unspecified "criminal acts" at an Arizona mall in May, the homes of
Jake Paul and his associate, Arman 'Armani' Izadi, were raided by theFBI on Wednesday. - Paul, a 23-year-old
YouTube star, was charged with trespassing and unlawful assembly after footage on social-media showed him outside a looted P.F. Chang's restaurant. He denied involvement in a tweet. - Izadi, 35, posted on Instagram asking that he be charged for the activities in solidarity since he was with Paul at the time.
- Izadi has faced several charges related to pimping and battery, agreeing in 2014 to a guilty plea on one count of pandering, the legal term for pimping.
- As speculation has run rampant around the FBI raids, some have focused their attention on Izadi and his storied past.
The FBI search of YouTube megastar Jake Paul's home Wednesday sparked immediate headlines and speculation. Paul is known for mischief, so a federal search of his home, which produced images of police carrying large guns out of the property, was a guaranteed draw for YouTube followers. But as the day continued, another important character in the saga emerged. It was revealed that agents also executed a federal search warrant at the homes Paul's associate Arman 'Armani' Izadi in
The warrants, which are sealed, are part of an ongoing investigation, a spokesperson for the FBI's Los Angeles office confirmed to Insider. A spokesperson for the FBI's Phoenix field office told Insider that the ongoing investigation is related to "criminal acts surrounding the incident at Scottsdale Fashion Square in May 2020."
Paul, 23, was charged with two misdemeanors in May for alleged looting and vandalizing at the Scottsdale, Arizona, mall. The charges were eventually dropped to facilitate the pursuit of a federal investigation, according to The Sun. Footage of the incident shared on Instagram showed Paul standing outside a looted P.F. Chang's restaurant. Paul, who has more than 20 million YouTube subscribers, denied the charges in a May 31 tweet.
Izadi, a DJ, former Team 10 member, and close friend of Paul's who officiated his stunt wedding to Tana Mongeau, said in a tweet that he was with him in Scottsdale. In a June 4 Instagram caption, he said that he wanted to be charged, too. "If running from the cops shooting tear gas at us with no orders is a
Soon after Wednesday's raid on his hot-pink Las Vegas mansion, which he calls the "Graffiti Mansion," Izadi posted several Instagram story videos of at least a dozen bikini-clad women hanging out on the property. "The only thing they wanted to know about was Arizona," he said in an Instagram story, after the internet entered a tailspin of theorizing about the mysterious searches.
Izadi had his own history of trouble with law enforcement before he became involved with Paul
As Will Sommer of The Daily Beast reported in 2018, Izadi has pleaded guilty to pandering, also known as pimping, and attempted battery with substantial bodily harm.
After Izadi was arrested in 2013 on 20 counts – including robbery, kidnapping, pimping, and battery — Sommer reported that three women told a grand jury they were recruited by Izadi through "nightlife events."
"Izadi lured women to his prostitution ring with promises of immense wealth, his companionship, and most of all, his protection," the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported in 2013 after reviewing police records.
When one woman tried to quit her work as a prostitute, investigators alleged that he threatened and beat her. The woman described his use of a wet towel on her face as "water boarding," the Las Vegas Sun reported.
The charges were dropped after Izadi entered a plea deal on one count of pandering in January 2014, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Izadi has maintained his claim that he was "set up" by police, despite his guilty plea, according to the Daily Beast.
The so-called Graffiti Mansion, where Izadi now lives and the Paul brothers have visited often, is known for its wild and lavish parties, often hosting huge groups of women. Izadi, who has 169,000 YouTube subscribers, has posted several videos that depict these parties. He often calls the women who visit the mansion, many of whom are models, "Barbies," as he did in his Wednesday Instagram stories.
People in Paul's orbit have sounded the alarm on Izadi before
In an interview with the YouTube drama reporter Daniel Keem (a.k.a. Keemstar), Adam Quinn, a former manager of Izadi and Paul's YouTuber collective Team 10, said that he left his job because of Izadi's allegedly nefarious behavior. After confronting Paul about Izadi, Paul said that he would continue working with him, Quinn said.
Allegations of inappropriate behavior and harassment at Team 10 homes have spread throughout the YouTube community. In a May 2019 YouTube video, YouTuber Hannah Forcier described her experience at Paul's Team 10 mansion in Calabasas as sexual assault. "It was so uncomfortable," Forcier said in her video, explaining details of how two unidentified men in the home allegedly grabbed her butt, even after she said she was uncomfortable. Forcier specified that the men were neither Paul nor Izadi, but she left the home immediately after the alleged assault.
Representatives for Izadi and Paul did not return Insider's request for comment.
- Read more:
- The FBI searched YouTuber Jake Paul's California mansion after serving a federal search warrant
- Jake Paul's longtime friend is asking Scottsdale Police to charge him with identical crimes after looting video scandal
- Several large guns were carried out of Jake Paul's California mansion during an FBI raid on the home
- Jake Paul's home was searched by a small army of federal agents. These some of the YouTuber's biggest controversies.