Superstar influencer Jake Paul’s mother has for the first time recounted the terrifying moment dozens of heavily-armed FBI agents stormed her son’s $8million California mansion.
In an exclusive new excerpt from her book ‘F*** The Pauls’, Pam Stepnick – mother to Jake, 29, and Logan Paul, 30 – also reveals how she collapsed to the ground, overcome by the crushing weight of scrutiny bearing down on her boy.
A team of SWAT officers in armored vehicles descended upon the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s Calabasas pad in 2020 while searching for evidence that he was linked to the recent looting of a Scottsdale mall.
Paul and graffiti artist pal Arman Izadi were arrested at Scottsdale Fashion Square mall and charged with trespassing and unlawful assembly after filming a mob ransacking the property. Some of the rioters had claimed that they were protesting the murder of George Floyd.
Both Paul and Izadi immediately denied any wrongdoing, but police said they were sent ‘hundreds of tips’ claiming the online personality was a participant in the riot.
Those allegations then led the FBI to initiate a raid of his property. News helicopters captured federal officers walking out of Paul’s mansion with several rifles they confiscated during the search.
In the end no arrests were made and the charges against Paul and Izadi were later dropped.
But for 62-year-old grandmother Stepnick, the drama was nearly more than she could bear, and left the family ‘staring into the abyss’. The following is an edited excerpt from her book.
Jake Paul’s mother has recalled the terrifying moment his $8m mansion was raided by the FBI
Back in August 2020, Paul’s home in Calabasas was stormed by dozens of officers (pictured)
In 2020, Jake was in the national news for throwing a party during the pandemic. I was so upset. Once again, I was on my knees begging God to make the chaos stop.
The party caused major backlash, not only for the lack of social distancing during Covid, but also after a woman claimed she was drugged at Jake’s party.
His face was plastered all across the internet. In response to the blowback, Jake retweeted the comment: ‘F–ck you, Jake Paul.’ It was like he had resigned himself to being the most hated man online.
Only, this wasn’t some YouTube beef or drama; these were serious incidents. I couldn’t take it anymore. I threw my hands up to the Lord and felt immense grief.
I took a walk in my neighborhood and couldn’t stop crying. I remember thinking to myself, ‘Oh, this is what depression feels like.’ I had never felt that low in my life.
I had poured out my life for my kids and tried to support them to choose good and be better, but this world is so dangerous and was eating them alive.
I called Ted [Gibson, Jake and Logan’s lawyer] and talked through all of it. He helped me remove the emotion from the situation and look at it pragmatically. He knew this would pass.
Just when I didn’t think I could possibly handle any more drama, the FBI came knocking at my son’s door. My ears rang with the news when Ted told me the FBI was raiding Jake’s home.
Multiple weapons were seized at the property as officers searched for evidence into a looting
Footage showed what appeared to be a high-powered rifle resting against the star’s hot tub
I ran out of my dermatologist appointment and sank to the floor in the building’s stairwell. My heart was racing.
After the family text bombardment during Jake’s last controversy (the Covid party), I decided to get ahead of their good intentions. This time, I texted them with the news about Jake, telling them not to freak out when they saw the headlines.
FBI spokesperson Jill McCabe said the FBI was investigating allegations of criminal acts surrounding the incident at Scottsdale Fashion Square in May 2020. I knew my son had not done anything that merited the freaking FBI’s attention, much less the whole country’s attention. The story was picked up in national publications.
I was unraveling. I had always been the rock and the glue that holds our family together, but the FBI? This was bigger than anything we had ever experienced up until this point in our family’s wild history.
At the time of the raid, Jake was training for his next boxing match. The FBI searched Jake’s home, looking for God knows what. As I watched helicopters circle around his mansion, I thought, ‘What the hell is happening?’
FBI agents carried guns out of the Calabasas home along with video equipment, cell phones, cameras, and laptops. In the days following the raid, my family stared into the abyss, devastated, afraid, and deeply humbled.
Paul, now one of the most famous boxers in the world, was never arrested over the raid
When I saw video footage of the FBI confiscating Team 10 cameras (the social media label Jake had founded) and laptops on the news over and over and over again, I was disgusted. In my heart, I knew there were no bad intentions on Jake’s part. I watched the video while shaking my head.
This investigation will go nowhere. There’s nothing to find.
And I was right. The charges were dropped. I was frustrated. It felt like another media grab.
At a time when all eyes were on the internet, Jake’s name meant more clicks. But this series of events caused Jake to take stock of his life. Finally, he had to course correct.
‘F*** the Pauls’: Written by their Mother by Pam Stepnick is published by Fedd Books, January 27
