Love Island Winner’s Girlfriend Jailed Over $2.6 Million Tax Fraud

The girlfriend of Love Island winner Davide Sanclimenti is facing an 18-month prison sentence after failing to report millions of dollars in income on her tax returns.

Iris Rabaya Au, who uses the nickname “The Goddess”, received more than $2.6 million (£1.95 million) connected to allegedly illicit funds generated by her former partner Adam Iza, a self-styled cryptocurrency entrepreneur known as “The Godfather”.

Au, who is from Orange County, California, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on September 21 after accepting a plea agreement in March 2025. She admitted one charge of subscribing to a false tax return.

The 37-year-old mother of two was also ordered to pay $1.4 million (£1 million) in restitution.

Court documents seen by Our News Outlet show that Au must additionally forfeit a number of luxury assets, including a Mercedes-Benz GLS, a Porsche 911 and a Ferrari 488 Pista.

Her seized possessions also included 14 Louis Vuitton handbags, three Chanel bags and items from Prada, Burberry, Hermes, Gucci and Dior, as well as three “Godfather” sculptures.

United States District Judge Percy Anderson imposed the sentence. Au was represented by Christopher Darden, who previously served as a co-prosecutor in the OJ Simpson murder trial.

The influencer describes herself as a “devoted mother, survivor, and entrepreneur”. She is now dating Italian reality star Sanclimenti, 31, who won Love Island in 2022.

Au and Sanclimenti began dating in May 2024 and confirmed their relationship publicly in January 2025, while his former girlfriend Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu was appearing on Love Island: All-Stars.

Sanclimenti has promised to support his long-term partner and recently shared a public message of encouragement on Instagram.

Before her relationship with the reality star, Au was involved with Iza, 26, who has been described as a cryptocurrency fraudster.

Iza has been held in custody since 2024 and has admitted to multiple offences, including unlawfully accessing Facebook advertising accounts and selling access to them. Prosecutors say he used the scheme to obtain and conceal millions of dollars in income.

According to prosecutors, Au set up shell companies and opened bank accounts in their names at Iza’s direction.

They alleged that money deposited into those accounts was used to pay approximately $1 million (£750,000), largely in cash, to serving Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies who provided Iza with private security.

Prosecutors further alleged that Iza relied on the deputies to secure court-authorised search warrants and obtain confidential information about people involved in financial and personal disputes with him.

The alleged proceeds also funded luxury property purchases and rentals, cars, jewellery, clothing and other leisure expenses, with spending said to have reached almost $10 million.

Authorities said Au acquired around $16million (£12million) in cryptocurrency for her then-boyfriend using the shell accounts.

More than $2.6million (£1.95million) was transferred from various accounts into Au’s personal bank accounts between 2020 and 2023 that she did not declare to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US tax service.

Prosecutors said she wilfully failed to declare the income to the IRS on her tax returns.

‘(Au) set up the financial infrastructure that enabled Adam Iza to move, spend, and conceal millions of dollars in fraud proceeds while she personally benefited from the wealth,’ they said.

‘Au concealed entities and income from her tax preparer and filed returns reporting only a small fraction of what she had actually received.

‘Those were affirmative acts designed to prevent the IRS from learning the true extent of her income.’

Au has suggested that she was a victim of coercion in a video she shared on social media on Sunday, the day before she was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

She said in the video that she had been in ‘an abusive relationship with a former partner’ during which she ‘made mistakes, including with my taxes’.

‘I made mistakes, serious mistakes, and I take responsibility for them,’ she said.

‘Davide stayed beside me, my family stayed beside me. Whatever happens next, it’s a chapter. It’s not the end of my story.’

Davide, in a supportive comment, wrote: ‘I know how much you’ve suffered and you never deserved any of this. 

‘I’m proud of how strong you’ve been through everything, you gave me strength too… and I really believe there’s so much light and good ahead for you. You’ll come out of this even stronger.’

Au replied: ‘Thank you for staying by my side through my hardest seasons & loving me through all the healing. I love you.’

Davide had previously told the Mail that he knew of his girlfriend’s legal troubles when they first met, telling us in March: ‘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.’

Adam Iza pleaded guilty in January 2025 to one count of conspiracy against rights, one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion.

He is due to appear in court on October 5, and is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence over his involvement in an attempted Bitcoin robbery and kidnapping in Connecticut in August 2024.

Au made no comment as she left the courthouse following sentencing alongside Davide and two friends, influencer Alli Stavro and personal injury lawyer Tina Odjaghian.

Ms Odjaghian posted a picture of herself, Ms Stavro and Au to her Instagram Stories following the hearing, captioning it: ‘Friends show up for friends no matter what.’