ICE Arrests Iranian ‘King of Instagram’ Farzad Tony Toutouni in Los Angeles
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Los Angeles arrested Farzad “Tony” Toutouni on Oct. 27, detaining the social media personality with more than one million followers on Instagram for removal proceedings, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported.
Toutouni, an Iranian citizen also known as Robert, faces federal custody while awaiting removal proceedings after authorities flagged his long criminal record and illegal status in the country.
The arrest cuts short a lavish, high-profile online lifestyle that featured more than a million followers under the handle “Lunatic Living.” Federal officials labeled him the “Iranian King of Instagram” due to frequent posts displaying high-end cars, luxury aircraft, and scantily clad women alongside hard- and soft-core pornography, KTLA reported.
Authorities noted that recent posts showed women gathered around a kitchen counter with bottles of alcohol and lines resembling drugs, while another image depicted Toutouni covered in wads of $100 bills.
Toutouni first arrived in the United States legally in 1983, according to KABC. By the end of that decade, ICE said he embarked on a crime spree that lasted for years. Arrest records outline charges for criminal threats, criminal conspiracy, and the possession and sale of controlled substances.
A judge ordered Toutouni removed from the United States in 1993, but the agency stated he was not removed at that time. Immigration officials issued a second removal order in 1999, which resulted in his deportation to Mexico. Toutouni stated that he subsequently reentered the United States on or about April 4, 2011, by crossing the river near Saint Clair, Michigan, on an electric raft purchased in Canada, ICE reported.
Courts sentenced Toutouni to more than 16 months in prison for making or passing a fictitious check, grand theft of an access card, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession or alteration of access card equipment, forgery, kidnapping, robbery, and extortion, according to ICE. His criminal history spans from 1989 to the present day.
'IRANIAN KING OF INSTAGRAM' ICE officers from Los Angeles have arrested an Iranian national with a large social media following and a lengthy criminal record who, the agency says, was living in the U. S. illegally. https://t.co/0HgWIvKUKs pic.twitter.com/t1M2L0ggpj
The social media figure’s rental property also intersected with violent crime. In June 2023, Israeli immigrant Emil Lahaziel was murdered outside a West Hollywood mansion that Toutouni was renting, KTLA reported. Investigators tied that homicide to a high-stakes poker game, leading to a 2025 indictment of Israeli organized crime figure Assaf “Ace” Waknine in an alleged extortion scheme connected to the slaying. Federal authorities have not implicated Toutouni in Lahaziel’s death.
Toutouni remains held in federal custody pending his removal proceedings, ICE stated. Officials did not disclose the exact location of the Oct. 27 arrest.
Anyone with information regarding crimes or suspicious activity can contact federal authorities by dialing 866-347-2423 or by completing the online tip form provided by the agency.