My FBI Declassified Story

The Nugget

Marques Brownlee reveals that the FBI and IRS visited his studio to gather evidence and ask questions after he exposed a fraudulent company selling fake "Escobar" phones.

Make it stick

🕵️‍♂️ FBI and IRS badges: Imagine three agents flashing their badges at you just like in the movies.
💰 Fake gold phones: The "Escobar" phones were just Samsung models with gold stickers, involved in a massive scam.
📨 Evidence Collection: They even collected Marques' videos and physical phones as evidence.
🚔 Scammer Arrested: The head of the scam, Olaf Gustafsson, eventually got arrested in Spain for fraud and money laundering.

Marques Brownlee hadn't been permitted to reveal his FBI encounter until recently.
Adhering to a pre-established rule, the FBI agents didn’t enter the studio until Marques went to meet them at the front desk.

Marques had previously published a video exposing the "Escobar" phones as a scam, detailing how the company plastered Samsung Galaxy Fold phones with gold stickers.
The company scammed buyers by sending phones only to influencers, while regular customers received nothing.

Agents asked Marques for all communications with the fraudulent company.
The FBI seized the half-peeled Escobar Fold 2 and a gold iPhone used in Marques' videos as evidence.

The fraudulent company faced financial roadblocks and legal repercussions, resulting in the arrest of Olaf Gustafsson in Spain for fraud and money laundering.
Marques' videos might be used in the United States court if Olaf gets charged there.

"I had published a video about the Escobar Fold... they were covering Samsung Galaxy folds cheaply with like gold stickers."
"The FBI actually took the half-peeled Escobar Fold and the scratched gold iPhone from my videos as evidence."
"I’ve been biting my tongue for years, not talking about it, hinting at it a little bit."
"So we actually reached back out to those same FBI agents... they’re like, 'Oh yeah, no, it’s cool now to talk about it. You’re totally fine.'"

This summary contains AI-generated information and may have important inaccuracies or omissions.