TikToker Allegedly Stole From Her Clients
Adva Lavie apparently has discovered a travel destination that wasn’t originally on the influencer itinerary: home. The judge sent her to jail – she’s facing six felonies!
By SyndicatedNews | SNN.BZ
The 29-year-old Israeli social-media personality, also known as Mia Ventura, appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom and delivered what may be the least subtle immigration request of the year: “Just deport me back to Israel.” The request came while Lavie was in custody and facing theft-related criminal charges to which she has pleaded not guilty.
This wasn’t exactly how the glamorous California adventure was supposed to end. Prosecutors allege Lavie used dating applications to meet affluent older men and then stole valuables from some of them. In one particularly eye-popping case, authorities allege a 78-year-old victim lost roughly $121,500 in cash, designer clothing and gold coins. Lavie denies the charges, so the allegations remain just that unless proved in court.
Then there is the alleged dead-mother episode, which deserves its own award for audacity. According to the allegations described in court records and news reports, Lavie asked one man for $25,000, telling him that her mother had died. Investigators say Lavie subsequently traveled to Israel, where evidence indicated that Mom was, inconveniently for that particular story, very much alive. Nothing ruins a good funeral story quite like the deceased turning up alive.
Authorities have also accused Lavie of stealing property associated with other victims, including allegations connected with a trip to Coachella. The prosecution’s portrait is therefore considerably different from the carefully curated social-media version of California life: dating apps, luxury goods, expensive travel—and, according to prosecutors, other people’s property occasionally joining the vacation.
And then came the ankle monitor. After Lavie had been released under court-ordered monitoring, authorities arrested her again. Police said the GPS ankle monitor she was supposed to be wearing was no longer attached. An ankle monitor, unfortunately, is one accessory the court generally prefers influencers not to remove before leaving the house. A judge subsequently ordered her held without bail.
Now the story has reached its strangest chapter. During her August 26 court appearance, Lavie complained about conditions in custody and repeatedly expressed a desire to return to Israel. Her attorney has also raised questions concerning her competency to stand trial, resulting in suspension of the criminal proceedings while that issue is evaluated. That means the woman who reportedly traveled internationally while cultivating a glamorous online persona is currently going nowhere without judicial involvement.
Lavie’s request nevertheless raises a legitimate question: Can she simply self-deport? For some people unlawfully present in the United States, the federal government provides a process for voluntary self-departure through CBP Home. Eligible participants can communicate their intention to leave the country, and DHS has advertised travel assistance and, in qualifying circumstances, complimentary transportation and a $1,000 exit bonus after departure is confirmed.
For Lavie, however, there is one rather substantial problem with the do-it-yourself version: pending criminal proceedings and custody. CBP Home is not Uber with an international destination button. A person sitting in a California jail cannot simply announce “self-deportation,” collect her belongings and head for LAX. Her criminal lawyers would first have to deal with the California proceedings and competency question, while the appropriate authorities determine whether and under what circumstances she could legally leave the United States.
So, Adva, if “Just deport me back to Israel” really is the new plan, the procedure isn’t particularly complicated to understand—even though executing it in her circumstances could be extremely complicated. Step One: tell the lawyers. Step Two: resolve the California court problem. Step Three: determine her immigration status and whether federal immigration authorities can facilitate departure. Step Four: obtain whatever legal clearance is required. Step Five: only then start thinking about the airport. And this time, perhaps keep the luggage limited to things accompanied by receipts bearing your own name.
After allegations involving dating apps, an elderly man’s valuables, gold coins, designer clothing, a supposedly deceased mother who allegedly wasn’t deceased after all, an absent ankle monitor and another trip to jail, Lavie’s latest request has supplied this saga with an almost impossibly neat punch line. The influencer came to America looking for followers and apparently found prosecutors instead. Now she says she’d like to go home.
Israel may eventually get Adva Lavie back. But California gets the first word, because self-deportation isn’t self-checkout when criminal charges are still pending.
