10 Horrible Crimes Committed by Influencers
10 Horrible Crimes Committed by Influencers
Welcome to MsMojo and today we’re looking at the ten most notorious times that popular influencers broke the law.
Alan & Alex Stokes
Internet pranksters often push the envelope, but the Stokes Twins crossed a line. Chasing clicks in 2019, the brotherly duo orchestrated a fake bank robbery. The Stokes hailed a real Uber for their supposed getaway, decked out in ski masks and hauling duffel bags allegedly stuffed with cash. A terrified bystander thought a genuine heist was underway and dialed 911. Thanks to this foolish stunt, confused officers drew their weapons on the unsuspecting and completely innocent Uber driver. Fortunately, nobody was hurt. The brothers eventually pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and reporting a bogus emergency, receiving community service and probation. It goes to show that chasing internet clout can carry very real, and potentially deadly consequences, when public safety is treated as a punchline.
Katie Sorensen
The mommy vlogging sphere imploded over this bizarre controversy. Back in 2020, California influencer Katie Sorensen uploaded a tearful Instagram video asserting that a Latino couple tried to snatch her young children. Her terrifying narrative spread like wildfire and sparked intense outrage. There was just one massive problem. She made the whole thing up. Detectives reviewed parking lot security footage and interviewed the bewildered couple that she falsely accused, quickly debunking the dramatic tale. Sorensen’s destructive lie caught up with her in 2023 when a jury convicted her of making a false crime report. Earning 90 days in jail with probation and bias training, she learned the hard way that manufacturing trauma for engagement metrics actually destroys real lives.
Trevor Jacob
Wrecking an entire aircraft just for YouTube views is next-level narcissism. Former Olympic snowboarder Trevor Jacob posted a video showing his small plane experiencing sudden engine failure mid-flight. Fans watched him dramatically parachute out while the pilotless craft spiraled into the rugged California wilderness. The spectacular footage racked up millions of clicks, but the feds weren’t buying it. Aviation experts deduced that Jacob deliberately staged the disaster to satisfy a lucrative sponsorship deal. Making matters worse, he later hiked back to the crash site, chopped up the plane, and disposed of the wreckage to thwart authorities. By 2023, his reckless stunt landed him a six-month federal prison sentence for obstructing a federal investigation.
Heather Morgan
Operating under the cringey alias “Razzlekhan,” Heather Morgan cultivated the persona of a quirky tech entrepreneur. Nobody watching her bizarre music videos suspected that she was secretly entangled in one of modern history’s largest financial crimes. Alongside her husband, Morgan spent years systematically laundering billions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency. While she posted obnoxious TikToks about being a corporate girlboss, the couple bounced digital assets through countless dark web accounts. But federal agents eventually untangled their complicated blockchain web, and they were arrested in February 2022. Morgan pleaded guilty to serious conspiracy charges and was sentenced to eighteen months in prison. Her absurd online footprint remains a truly surreal contrast to the jaw-dropping scale of her hidden underworld enterprise.
Jebara Igbara
Going by the name Jay Mazini, Jebara Igbara rocketed to Instagram fame through extreme generosity. He constantly filmed himself handing thick stacks of cash to fast-food employees and random pedestrians, cultivating the image of an ultra-wealthy philanthropist. Sadly, that charitable facade was merely a predatory trap designed to earn his followers’ unwavering trust. Igbara mercilessly weaponized that goodwill, launching an elaborate crypto scheme that swindled his own fans out of $8 million. Shockingly, his descent into criminality went far beyond white-collar theft. You see, he also hired thugs to kidnap a man who had been accusing him of fraud online. In 2024, the disgraced former influencer was slapped with a seven year sentence in federal prison.
Austin Jones
YouTube was once the ultimate launchpad for aspiring musicians. Austin Jones took full advantage, building a massive fanbase through his popular acappella covers. But beneath the quirky musical talent lurked a calculating predator. Jones ruthlessly exploited his minor internet celebrity status to target his underage female fans, often pressuring them into filming sexually explicit videos of themselves. The FBI eventually uncovered his sickening digital abuse, and in 2019, the disgraced singer pleaded guilty to a serious federal charge. Jones traded his recording microphone for a prison jumpsuit, receiving a ten year sentence for victimizing the very fans who idolized him.
Ramon Abbas
To his sprawling legion of followers, Hushpuppi was living the high life. Broadcasting from Dubai, he flaunted fleets of cars, private jets, and bespoke designer suits. Yet Ramon Abbas wasn’t some visionary real estate mogul or genius investor. He was secretly the linchpin of an aggressive cybercrime syndicate. Abbas helped orchestrate many scams and cyber heists, draining tens of millions from schools, law firms, and unsuspecting citizens around the world. Ironically, his insatiable need to post his ill-gotten wealth gave detectives the very breadcrumbs they needed to track him down. A US judge slapped him with an eleven-year prison sentence in 2022, proving that digital flexing can sometimes lead straight to a jail cell.
Ali Abulaban
TikTok audiences knew Ali Abulaban as JinnKid, a creator beloved for his comedic impressions. He often imitated Tony Montana from “Scarface,” and that explosive cinematic rage eventually manifested in his real life. During a bitter marital separation in 2021, Abulaban covertly loaded spying software onto his young daughter’s iPad so he could eavesdrop on his estranged wife. After hearing her laughing with another man, the enraged influencer rushed straight to her apartment and shot them both in cold blood. A jury found the former comedian guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in 2024, and he was given life in prison without parole. The senseless double homicide shattered two families and left his innocent child without parents.
Ruby Franke
YouTube family vlogs often face ethical scrutiny, but the “8 Passengers” channel hid some genuine atrocities. Matriarch Ruby Franke broadcasted strict parenting advice to millions of subscribers, projecting an aura of tough-love righteousness. In reality, her home was a house of horrors. Partnering with disgraced therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, Franke often starved and physically abused her children. The grim facade completely collapsed in 2023 when her emaciated and duct-taped son climbed out a window and ran to a neighbor’s house. Both Franke and Hildebrandt pleaded guilty to aggravated child abuse charges. Franke’s downfall exposed the blind spots within the realm of family influencer content, and she was given a sentence of four to thirty years.
Trey Sesler
And here we come to the deeply unsettling tale of Mr. Anime. Operating as an early YouTube pioneer, Trey Sesler cultivated a niche audience by mixing straightforward cartoon reviews with weapons demonstrations. Fans soon noticed that his behavior was growing increasingly erratic, but nobody predicted the bloodshed that was to come. In 2012, Sesler’s violent tendencies exploded when he grabbed a rifle and murdered his mother, father, and older brother inside their Texas home. Upon his arrest, the killer admitted that he was planning a school shooting and that he murdered his family to prevent the shame and public backlash of his actions. The former creator is now serving life behind bars without parole.
Do you remember when these stories broke? Let us know in the comments below!
