Top 10 Times YouTube Pranksters Faced Justice

#10: Charles Ross

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Vlog Creations & RossCreations Charles Ross, of Vlog Creations and RossCreations fame, has had several run-ins with the cops due to his pranking videos. To date, the 2019 incident has arguably been the most extreme. Ross decided to dress up as a police officer for one of his videos and tried to issue a ticket to an unsuspecting woman. Well, impersonating a cop is illegal and the stunt didn’t fly with the actual officers in Sarasota County, who arrested him for a felony. Ross accepted a plea deal for a first-degree misdemeanor. This meant he received six months of probation rather than prison time for the original charge.

#9: Jason Cid

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King Cid Wasting emergency services time is one of the worst things to do, as it draws resources away from those in need. Jason Cid, known as “King Cid”, did just that in 2022. In a video, he got his friend to report the car they were using to the cops for “suspicious activity” — aka selling illicit substances. Cid and friends then acted as though they were in possession of said substances when the police turned up. The authorities checked the car's trunk, but rather than finding something illegal, they discovered there was only Coca-Cola in it. Cid did this to show how “aggressive” the cops are. Instead, he was later charged with a third-degree felony for misusing 911, with his bond reportedly set to $2500.

#8: Jason Ethier

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ImJayStation Back in the day, Jason Ethier, better known as “ImJayStation”, and Alexia Marano were one of the biggest couples on the platform. But in 2020, Ethier uploaded a horrific video announcing that Marano had passed away. He followed that up with videos using a ouija board to try and reach her and going to her memorial. However, it was all a lie that he fessed up to. The scheme, which infuriated the Internet, was designed to boost the popularity of his and Marano’s joint channel Dream Team. In the aftermath, Marano broke up with him and he was charged with assault. They later reconciled (but claimed it wasn’t romantic) before seemingly parting ways again. YouTube ultimately deleted Ethier’s ImJayStation and 666 channels in 2021.

ReSet In 2017, Kanghua Ren, who you may recognize as “reSet,” handed out Oreos and cash to a homeless man in Barcelona. Except Ren had actually scraped away the cream and replaced it with toothpaste, which reportedly caused the man to throw up. After receiving backlash, he paid the victim's kid to deter her from pursuing charges. But the YouTuber was still arrested, and showed little remorse in court. He received a 15 month prison sentence, was ordered to pay more than $22 000 in damages, and told to shutter his social media accounts for 5 years. However, in Spain, jail sentences of less than two years are typically suspended for first-time offenders provided the crime is nonviolent.

#6: Jay Swingler & Romell Henry

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TGFbro Making waves for cementing one of their heads in a microwave, the “TGFbro” guys amped things up in 2020 by taking an “instructor” on an English countryside drive. Only it was anything but relaxing, as the duo of Jay Swingler and Romell Henry wreaked havoc. They went up embankments, crashed, drove on the wrong side of the road, damaged the car they were in, and more, all for some content. This soon drew the attention of the police, who charged them with careless driving. They pleaded guilty. Five penalty points were added to their respective licenses, and they were ordered to pay £1000 each in addition to court costs.

Trollstation The channel Trollstation features a collaborative group of like-minded pranksters. And they love to push their content into controversy. In 2015, this meant a bunch of them pretending to carry out an art heist at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England. The art lovers were petrified. Someone fainted, and others caused a stampede as they ran from the building. The Trollstation YouTubers then went to the Tate Gallery for a similar stunt. After arrest, Daniel Jarvis, Endrit Ferizolli, Ebenezer Mensah, and Helder Gomes received prison sentences between 4 and 5 months. Danh Van Lee, meanwhile, got nine months for this and involvement in a different hoax.

#4: Sam Pepper

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Sam Pepper In November 2015, Sam Pepper, working with Colby Brock, seemingly decided to set up Sam Golbach. Pepper took the duo, staging a kidnapping. He then forced Golbach to watch as Brock was fake-killed. To say people were outraged at the tasteless stunt would be an understatement. It caused the English prankster to stop creating prank videos, clear his channel, and apologize. Another prank from 2014 involved him assaulting women in the street. This led to several women alleging he harassed them. Pepper has claimed that neither of these videos were real, saying everyone featured in them consented. Nowadays, he’s moved to TikTok.

#3: Alan & Alex Stokes

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Stokes Twins Alan and Alex Stokes went too far with a series of pranks in 2019. Not only did they concern a bunch of bystanders, but they also terrified an Uber driver. The masked duo ran around Irvine, California, duffel bags in tow, acting as though they had robbed a bank. Later, they ordered an Uber, trying to force the driver to help them escape the fake robbery. The driver wouldn’t participate, and armed police got involved. The Stokes Twins then reportedly tried to pull another, similar stunt. They were charged with false imprisonment and swatting, and while they avoided prison by pleading guilty, they received community service and probation.

VitalyzdTv The creator of “VitalyzdTv,” Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, has been getting attention as a prankster for over a decade, often for controversial reasons. One stunt he pulled in May 2016 is particularly infamous. He climbed the famous Hollywood sign in California with a sign of his own saying “I’m back,” generating lots of news coverage. When he got back down to the ground, he was arrested for trespassing. Zdorovetskiy apparently attempted to stow away his head camera, but it was quickly found by the cops. Then, in 2020, he was arrested for aggravated battery after attacking a woman exercising in Miami Beach, Florida. His attorney claimed he was under the influence of mind-altering substances, and the resulting court case was dismissed in the end.

DaddyOFive Prank YouTubers have the habit of constantly making more and more extreme content to entice viewers. But sometimes, it crosses a line. That’s what happened with the channel “DaddyOFive”. Videos featuring Michael and Heather Martin playing so-called “pranks” on their five kids got too intense. In 2017, this sparked the YouTube community to speak out against the alleged mistreatment. Authorities got involved, and the Martins lost custody of two of the children. They then received five years of probation each for child neglect. Though they continued posting on YouTube under the name “FamilyOFive”, their account was ultimately banned in 2018. The “Martin sons” remain active on the platform through “The Martin Family” channel.