Who are the Nelk boys? Popular YouTubers face lawsuit after fake meth lab prank goes horribly wrong
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA: The Nelk Boys, a group of YouTubers including Kyle Forgeard, Jesse Sebastiani, Stephen Deleonardis, and Salim The Dream, are being dragged to court after their fake meth lab prank went terribly wrong.
A marijuana delivery driver named Nicholas Aliff filed the lawsuit against the Nelk Boys, claiming that he was unaware of the prank and suffered physical and emotional injuries as a result.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, Aliff claimed that the YouTube pranksters ordered cannabis, which he delivered to a warehouse near Los Angeles, where they had set up a fake meth lab in 2021.
They had also hired an actor to play a cop, who was scripted to make a drug bust before ultimately accepting a bribe.
In a video of the prank, the cop is seen apprehending the deliveryman and forcing everyone to lie down on the ground before asking "who is the leader."
The officer eventually agrees to let the deliveryman go when the YouTubers make a sizable offer.
Nicholas Aliff's accusations against Nelk Boys
In the lawsuit, Aliff asserted that he genuinely believed the actor was a real police officer, and he had no knowledge of the prank until the Nelk Boys told him it was all a joke.
He claimed he became irate after learning about the prank and started yelling at the boys when their security team restrained him by grabbing him from behind and putting him in a chokehold.
View this post on Instagram
This was the point when the situation rapidly escalated and Aliff suffered severe physical and emotional injuries as a result.
He later alleged that the Nelk Boys lured him into their fake meth lab with the intention of frightening him and capturing his shocked reaction on camera.
Now, Aliff is suing the Nelk Boys for assault and battery, false imprisonment, and infliction of emotional distress. Through his legal action, he hopes to hold the pranksters accountable for their actions and seek damages.
The Nelk Boys have yet to respond to the allegations or the lawsuit.
View this post on Instagram
The Nelk Boys’ previous legal troubles
This is not the first time the Nelk Boys have found themselves in legal trouble. Previously, Jesse Sebastiani was arrested on two charges of making false alarms after he entered a store wearing a white jumpsuit covered with fake blood in 2019.
The group faced also faced another legal problem in 2020 when they organized a few parties at the Illinois State University during the Covid-19 pandemic
View this post on Instagram
The viral videos of the parties revealed that the students were not wearing masks or maintaining social distancing.
The case was later investigated by the Illinois Police Department, and the group's YouTube channel was momentarily suspended for violating the Creator Responsibility guideline.
The group was also involved in some controversy at the time after videos featured them protesting against the pandemic protocols.