Love Island winner Davide Sanclimenti is standing by his girlfriend, Iris Au, after she was charged with subscribing to a false tax return involving millions of pounds.
The reality television star went to LA following his split from Ekin-Su Culculoglu, where he seemingly met Iris. The pair went public with their relationship in January.
Iris, known as EyeRize online, has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal tax charge and agreed to pay a federal criminal tax charge for failing to report $2.6 million (£2,004,886) in crypto income.
She is said to have illegally gained the profit from criminal activities of her ex-boyfriend, Adam Iza, who was known as ‘The Godfather’. A report from the United States Attorney’s Office said Iris has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge, a serious criminal offence with a maximum punishment of five years in federal prison, a huge fine or even both.
She is expected to make her initial appearance in United States District Court in the upcoming days in downtown Los Angeles.
Davide spoke exclusively to The Mirror about the situation and explained why he is sticking by his girlfriend: “How The Italian Stallion stole the girl from the Godfather with the LAPD on a speed dial… this sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster. The truth is that I knew about her situation from the start which is why I was protecting her.
“Iris is an amazing person who has been through difficult situations that most people could never understand. There’s so much of this extraordinary story that people don’t know yet. I will be there by her side to supply her as she deserves all the support and understanding.”
According to Iris’ plea agreement, which was seen by The Sun, Iza committed a series of crimes between 2020 and 2024, including selling access to advertising accounts and lines of credit provided by Facebook Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. after he fraudulently obtained access to them.
He also engaged Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies to provide private security for him and obtain court authorised search warrants targeting people he had financial and personal disputes with.
Iris created shell corporations and opened bank accounts at Iza’s direction, using illicit funds placed into those accounts to pay roughly $1 million to the deputies.
She also paid for recreational activity for herself and Iza, valued at nearly $10 million, and acquired approximately $16 million in cryptocurrency for Iza.
In her plea agreement, Iris admitted she transferred over $2.6 million from these various accounts to her personal bank accounts from 2020 through 2023. She did not report the income to the IRS on her federal tax returns, and her guilty plea means she will face up to three years in federal prison.
In January, Iza appeared in front of a federal judge and pleaded guilty to conspiracy against rights, wire fraud, and tax evasion.
His sentencing is scheduled for June 16 and he will face up to 35 years in federal prison. He has been in federal custody since September last year.