ICE Arrests Iranian 'King of Instagram' in LA After Decades of Crimes
Farzad "Tony" Toutouni, 55, was arrested Oct. 27 in Los Angeles by ICE after illegally re-entering the US. His alleged crimes include kidnapping, robbery, and extortion dating to 1989.
Iranian Instagram Celebrity Nabbed by ICE in Hollywood Hills
Federal ICE agents arrested Iranian national Farzad "Tony" Toutouni, 55, in Los Angeles on October 27, NY Post Metro reports, ending a years-long pursuit of a man who built a million-follower social media following while allegedly evading immigration authorities and accumulating a criminal record dating back to 1989.
Toutouni — known online as the "King of Instagram" under the handle @lunatic_living — posted photos of cash, nude women, exotic cars, and private jets from a $5 million mansion in the Hollywood Hills. His biography described him as a self-made entrepreneur and "Pelvis Philanthropist."
"I live my life like it's my last day every day!" read one post showing him seated in a private jet, three women on his lap and bundles of $100 bills stacked on a table in front of him.
According to ICE officials, Toutouni first arrived in the United States legally in 1983. He subsequently accumulated arrests for criminal threats, criminal conspiracy, and possession and sale of a controlled substance. He was also sentenced to more than 16 months in prison for offenses including making or passing a fictitious check, grand theft, conspiracy, forgery, kidnapping, robbery, and extortion.
An immigration judge ordered his removal from the country in 1993, but Toutouni remained. A second removal order followed in 1999, after which he was deported to Mexico, federal authorities said.
Toutouni told investigators he re-entered the United States illegally on or around April 4, 2011, crossing a river near Saint Clair, Michigan, using an electric raft purchased in Canada. He also used the first name "Robert" to conceal his identity, ICE officials said.
In the years that followed, he cultivated a party-centered online persona. Recent posts showed him at Burning Man with an elaborately decorated custom RV and campsite. "I'm happy I experienced it, but it's not something I would ever want to do again," he wrote of the event.
ICE officials confirmed Toutouni is now in federal custody as removal proceedings get underway.
Source: NY Post Metro