Glamorous LA model targeted rich old men and young women for theft, accusers say
Mia Ventura attends Teatro Live Powered By Lemon Soda Music at AVALON Hollywood on January 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
LOS ANGELES - It was an invitation that lingerie model Amber Karis Bassick couldn't refuse - a sun-filled hotel stay on the Spanish isle of Ibiza, paid for by her new friend Adva Lavie, a men's magazine centerfold and social media influencer.
"I thought that was really nice of her and sweet, and it'd be a lot of fun," Bassick recalled of the offer.
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A willowy Los Angeles resident with dark hair and eyes, Lavie had long cultivated a reputation as a glamorous, jet-setting model with an exotic background.
Dressed in revealing outfits, Lavie posed in TikTok videos, Instagram posts, Penthouse photo spreads and other media. She boasted to podcast listeners and bikini contest judges that she was from Israel and a former member of the Israel Defense Forces.
But behind the flashy, social media facade of luxury cars, private jets and model getaways in Vegas, there lurked something darker and predatory, according to Bassick and others.
It didn't take long for Bassick to wonder whether Lavie might have an ulterior motive for inviting her along.
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When Bassick arrived at the hotel, staff told her their room wasn't paid for, so she had to shell out about 2,000 euros to check in, she said.
Then, when Lavie showed up to the hotel, she was being trailed by a taxi driver who demanded to be paid, Bassick said. Lavie claimed that her American Express card wasn't working in Europe and the airport money exchange was closed, so........
