Adva Lavie, a 28-year-old former Penthouse model, pleaded not guilty Monday in a Los Angeles courtroom to six felony charges, including grand theft, burglary, and unauthorized use of identifying information, just weeks before her planned wedding to 64-year-old real estate tycoon Stephen Cloobeck near the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
A judge ordered Lavie to wear an ankle monitor, surrender her passport, and remain in California without court permission. If convicted, she faces up to 11 years in prison. The wedding is scheduled for June 18. Her trial is set to begin May 18.
The timeline alone tells the story: a woman accused of systematically targeting wealthy older men now wears a GPS bracelet on her ankle while planning a destination wedding to a billionaire. The Los Angeles District Attorney's office says Lavie ran a two-year campaign beginning in 2023 to steal from affluent men she met through dating apps and social connections. Her fiancé, the founder of Diamond Resorts, was not in court for the hearing.
The charges paint a picture of calculated predation. Prosecutors accused Lavie, also known by the alias Mia Ventura, of using relationships with younger women to gain entry into victims' homes, then making off with cash and valuables. The six felonies span multiple categories of theft and fraud, though the full breakdown of individual counts beyond grand theft, burglary, and unauthorized use of identifying information has not been publicly detailed.
Witnesses have come forward with their own accounts. Michael Sartain, host of the "Access Vegas" podcast, told KTLA that when Lavie appeared on his show, she allegedly disappeared into the greenroom and rifled through other guests' belongings.
Sartain described the episode bluntly:
"She was gone for 45 minutes and just went through everyone's bag."
One of those guests, Eden Lynn, said she was among the victims. Lynn claimed she discovered someone had attempted to use her stolen credit card at a Beverly Hills salon, booked under the name Mia Ventura, Lavie's known alias.
Lynn described how she tracked the alleged fraud:
"I got in contact with the salon and the stylist she booked with, and they gave me the name it was put under. She sent shots of the consultation FaceTime she did with her and the receipts and text messages."
The allegations stretch beyond California. Adult film performer Codey Steele claimed Lavie stole luxury items from him and others during a work event trip to France, only returning them after French authorities were contacted. Celebrity legal trouble often reveals patterns that the public never sees until a courtroom forces the details into daylight.
Steele's account was vivid:
"She decided to pretty much rob basically every person in that group, essentially anything marked with a designer label."
Lavie's defense is not short on firepower. Her original attorney, Jeff Rubenstein, was joined Wednesday by Jeremy Lessim, the lawyer who defended rap mogul Suge Knight in a high-profile murder trial in 2016. When the judge asked about adding another attorney, Rubenstein replied simply: "It takes a village."
Cloobeck reportedly funded Lavie's legal team. But the billionaire did not appear in person at her court hearing. When asked why, Rubenstein offered a two-word deflection: "You'd have to ask him that."
The absence is notable. Cloobeck is no stranger to public life. He founded Diamond Resorts, the timeshare giant, and briefly ran for governor of California last year before dropping out. After ending his candidacy, he poured over $1 million into the campaign of Democrat Eric Swalwell. Now his name surfaces in a felony case involving the woman he intends to marry in Jerusalem in a matter of weeks.
Lavie, who has appeared in both Penthouse and Playboy, is also described as a social media influencer. As she left the courthouse Monday, she spoke briefly to the California Post.
"I just can't wait for this nightmare to be over with."
The calendar presents an obvious problem. Lavie's trial is set for May 18. Her wedding is scheduled for June 18, in Israel. A judge has ordered her not to leave California without permission and has confiscated her passport. Whether the Jerusalem ceremony can proceed under those conditions remains an open question. Dramatic legal and investigative developments have a way of rewriting plans that once seemed fixed.
Rubenstein did not address the wedding logistics. Cloobeck has made no public statement. The prosecution's case, built on what it calls a two-year pattern of theft targeting wealthy men, will have to survive scrutiny before a jury, but the witness accounts already circulating publicly add texture that no defense team wants hanging over pretrial coverage.
The witness claims, a podcast greenroom allegedly ransacked, a credit card traced to a Beverly Hills salon under a fake name, designer goods allegedly stolen on a trip to France, are not yet proven in court. But they describe a consistent method: gain access through charm or proximity, take what you can carry, and move on to the next mark.
That Lavie now stands accused of these acts while preparing to marry a man worth a fortune is the kind of detail that writes itself. High-profile cases often raise more questions than early reporting can answer, and this one is no exception.
Lavie is entitled to the presumption of innocence. The charges are accusations, not convictions. But the court's decision to impose an ankle monitor, seize her passport, and restrict her to California signals that a judge took the flight risk seriously, and the prosecution's framing of a sustained, two-year campaign suggests this is not a case built on a single disputed incident.
Cloobeck's role in all of this remains murky. He is bankrolling the defense, according to reports, but staying out of the courtroom. A man who sought the governorship of California and wrote seven-figure checks to a sitting congressman now finds his personal life entangled with a felony prosecution. The public spectacle of celebrity events and controversy is nothing new in American life, but the stakes here are measured in prison years, not tabloid clicks.
The questions that remain unanswered are significant. What are the specific details of all six felony counts? How did the relationship between Lavie and Cloobeck begin, and when? Did Cloobeck know about the allegations before the charges were filed? None of that has been publicly addressed.
For now, a 28-year-old model with a GPS monitor strapped to her ankle says she can't wait for the nightmare to end. The Los Angeles District Attorney's office says the nightmare was one she allegedly inflicted on others for two years running.
Accountability doesn't care about the guest list. The courtroom date comes before the wedding date, and no amount of billionaire backing changes what a jury will eventually decide.
