Davide Sanclimenti has spoken out for the first time after it was revealed his girlfriend Iris Au is facing prison over a $2.6million tax row.
Iris, 35, could serve up to three years after pleading guilty to a charge after failing to report ill-gotten gains she obtained via her then boyfriend’s criminal cryptocurrency activities – but Davide claims he has been aware of her situation all along.
The Love Island star, who won the series back in 2022 with Ekin-Su Culculoglu, went public with new flame Iris in January – and has shared his support her after her plea.
Iris is the ex-girlfriend of cryptocurrency fraudster Iza, dubbed ‘The Godfather’, who she was involved with before meeting Davide.
The reality personality has boldly claimed he ‘stole’ Iris from Iza, as he weighed in on the news that she could potentially serve jail time.
Davide told MailOnline he knew about Iris’s charges when they met and vowed to be by her side throughout, before hinting that there is more to the ‘extraordinary’ story.
The reality star also claimed that Iris was still with the ‘The Godfather’ when they met and he ‘stole’ her away from him.
Davide Sanclimenti has spoken out for the first time after it was revealed his girlfriend Iris Au is facing prison over a $2.6million tax row
Iris, 35, could serve up to three years after pleading guilty to a charge after failing to report ill-gotten gains she obtained via her then boyfriend’s criminal cryptocurrency activities
He said: ‘How The Italian Stallion stole the girl from the Godfather with the LAPD on a speed deal… this sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster,’ he said.
‘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.’
It was revealed on Monday that she is agreeing to plead guilty to a federal criminal tax charge, and will face jail time as a result.
A statement reveals that she has agreed to plead guilty to the 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 illegally gained this profit from criminal activities of her then boyfriend.
A report from the United States Attorney’s Office explained Au has agreed to plead guilty to the felony charge and is expected to make her initial appearance in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming days.
Iris is the ex-girlfriend of cryptocurrency fraudster Iza, dubbed ‘The Godfather’, who she was involved with before meeting Davide
Davide told MailOnline he knew about Iris’s charges when they met and vowed to be by her side throughout, before hinting that there is more to the ‘extraordinary’ story
According to Au’s plea agreement, from 2020 to 2024, Iza committed a series of crimes, including fraudulently obtaining access to advertising accounts and lines of credit provided by Facebook Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. and selling access to those accounts. Iza obtained millions of dollars of unreported income as a result of these schemes.
Separately, Iza engaged active Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) deputies to provide private security for him and caused the deputies, among other things, to obtain court-authorized search warrants and confidential law enforcement information targeting people with whom Iza had financial and personal disputes.
At Iza’s direction, Au created shell corporations and opened bank accounts in the names of those enтιтies.
She then used the illicit funds placed into those accounts to pay approximately $1 million to the deputies, mostly in cash, purchase or lease luxury real estate, cars, jewelry, and clothing, pay for recreational activity for Iza and herself valued at nearly $10 million, and acquire approximately $16 million in cryptocurrency for Iza.
Au admitted in her plea agreement that she transferred more than $2.6 million from these various accounts to her personal bank accounts during the period 2020 through 2023, income that she willfully failed to report to the IRS on her federal tax returns.
Davide won the 2023 series of Love Island with All Stars’ Ekin-Su, who is now dating Curtis Pritchard (Seen in 2023)
After pleading guilty, Au will face up to three years in federal prison.
On January 30, Iza appeared before a federal judge and pleaded guilty to conspiracy against rights, wire fraud, and tax evasion.
His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 16, at which time he will face up to 35 years in federal prison. Iza has been in federal custody since September 2024.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI are investigating this matter.
