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Five luxury properties, four vehicles, jewelry and cash in multiple currencies were taken during the operation. Mayor Federico "Fico" Gutiérrez: "So much luxury, but so little explanation."

MEDELLÍN, Colombia — Colombia's Attorney General's Office has seized a portfolio of high-end real estate and vehicles preliminarily valued at more than 17 billion Colombian pesos from U.S. content creator Kevin Alex Thobias, escalating an international money-laundering investigation that already has the 29-year-old wanted by a U.S. federal court in Puerto Rico.

The operation, carried out in recent hours in Medellín, targeted five properties and four vehicles tied to Thobias — a social-media personality best known in Colombia for importing the country's first Tesla Cybertruck and for a lifestyle heavy on classic cars, exclusive fashion and viral Instagram posts.

What was seized

The centerpiece of the raid was a mansion inside the Terrace Quinta Esencia residential complex in El Poblado, one of Medellín's most exclusive neighborhoods. According to the Fiscalía General de la Nación, the home is equipped with a tennis court, private home cinema, an artificial lake, sauna and jacuzzi.

Alongside the real estate and vehicles, agents reported finding jewelry, documents of interest and cash in Colombian pesos and several foreign currencies. Investigators say many of the items had already appeared in Thobias's own social-media posts — photos and videos of classic cars, luxury watches and designer pieces that helped build his online brand.

The measures ordered by prosecutors include the "suspension of the power of disposition, attachment, sequestration and taking of possession" of the assets, according to Juan Felipe Cárdenas, Specialized Director of Asset Forfeiture at the Fiscalía. A judge will now decide whether the assets are permanently forfeited to the Colombian state through the country's extinción de dominio (asset-forfeiture) proceedings.

The operation was led by the Specialized Directorate for the Forfeiture of the Right of Domain — attached to the Deputy Attorney General's Office for Criminal Finance — with support from the Specialized Directorate of Financial Investigations and the National Police.

"Part of the wealth built through his alleged criminal activity would have been allocated to the purchase of real estate in exclusive sectors and to classic and latest-generation cars for resale," Cárdenas said in a statement.

Who is Kevin Alex Thobias

Thobias, a U.S. citizen, rose to prominence in Colombia through a curated feed of extreme luxury: the first Tesla Cybertruck in the country, a Bugatti Chiron 2018, other high-end classic cars, and constant showcases of designer goods on Instagram.

Behind the influencer persona sits Nutragroup Holdings LLC, a dietary-supplements company he owns. According to Colombian and U.S. sources cited in the case, Thobias was arrested by U.S. federal agents in July 2025 in connection with an alleged scheme involving supplement products said to have manipulated consumer perception.

A U.S. District Court in the District of Puerto Rico is now seeking him on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. He is also under investigation in Puerto Rico for allegedly submitting false information on tax-exemption applications filed under the island's Law 20 and Law 22 — statutes designed to attract foreign investment and export-of-services businesses. Those exemptions were granted by Puerto Rico's Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC).

Colombian authorities say their asset seizure is part of a broader cross-border effort: while the criminal case advances in U.S. courts, Colombia is securing the assets and evidence located on its territory.

Political reaction

Medellín Mayor Federico "Fico" Gutiérrez weighed in publicly on X shortly after the operation, tying the case to a wider clampdown on displays of unexplained wealth in the city.

"So much luxury, but so little explanation," Gutiérrez wrote. "Let it be clear: luxury cannot be the façade to hide money from crime. This is not the first one. We are going after more assets and more people linked to money laundering."

The mayor confirmed that the seized inventory includes "luxury properties, high-end vehicles and gold jewelry," all being examined within a formal money-laundering investigation.

Why the case matters

For Colombian investigators, the Thobias file has become a showcase of how social media itself can become the evidence trail. The same posts that built his following — mansions, supercars, jewelry — are now being cross-referenced against the assets seized, feeding directly into the judicial file opened in Puerto Rico.

"The public display of luxury through digital platforms," authorities said in their communication, "can become a relevant element for investigations, serving as an indicator of the origin of the resources and their destination."

Thobias has not made any public statement about the Colombian seizure. The case now moves toward the forfeiture hearings before a Colombian judge, while the criminal proceedings continue in the U.S. federal system.