A Los Angeles social media figure whom ICE has called the “Iranian King of Instagram” is now sitting in federal custody after agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested him on October 27. Farzad “Tony” Toutouni, who built an online following of more than one million Instagram followers, is an Iranian citizen whom ICE says is in the country illegally.
ICE announced the arrest on November 9, saying its Los Angeles officers picked up Toutouni on criminal and immigration grounds. According to KTLA, he was detained on October 27 and will remain in custody “pending removal proceedings,” per the agency. The case, reported by KTLA before ABC7 Los Angeles, lays out an immigration history stretching back more than four decades.
A Decades-Long Paper Trail
Toutouni first arrived in the United States legally in 1983, according to the station's report. An immigration judge ordered him removed in 1993, but ICE said that removal order was never carried out at the time. A second removal order followed in 1999, and that time he was deported to Mexico, per the same account.
ICE alleges Toutouni reentered the country illegally in 2011, describing a border crossing method as unusual as the rest of his story. The agency said Toutouni told officers he crossed back into the U.S. on or about April 4, 2011, near Saint Clair, Michigan, using an electric raft he had purchased in Canada to float across the river.
Criminal History and Sentencing, Per ICE
ICE said Toutouni has a lengthy criminal history that includes forgery, kidnapping, robbery and extortion, and the agency said he was sentenced to more than 16 months in prison for those offenses. ICE separately said he was arrested for criminal threats, criminal conspiracy, and possession and sale of a controlled substance. Those criminal-history and sentencing details are presented here as the agency's own attributed account, relayed through the station's reporting.
An Online Persona Built on Excess
Online, Toutouni cultivated an image far removed from the immigration file now attached to his name. Under the handle “Lunatic Living,” he built his following by frequently sharing photos featuring high-end cars, luxury aircraft and scantily dressed women, cementing his self-styled reputation as a fixture of LA's social media scene. That online persona is now set against the agency's custody status, with Toutouni remaining held as his removal proceedings move forward.
