ShortHand: The Bling Ring

Summary

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RedHanded Podcast – ShortHand: The Bling Ring

Release Date: July 28, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this “ShortHand” episode, the hosts of RedHanded plunge into the infamous case of the “Bling Ring” – a group of celebrity-obsessed teenagers who stole millions of dollars’ worth of luxury goods from Hollywood’s elite between 2008 and 2009. The episode explores the motivations, exploits, and downfall of the Bling Ring members, casting a satirical eye on the unique blend of social media naivety, fame-hunger, and the peculiar LA lifestyle that made the crimes possible. The hosts blend dark humor and sharp cultural commentary throughout, making the story both absurdly entertaining and unsettling.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: The Bling Ring’s Unlikely Origins

• [01:14] The story kicks off in 2009 “la la land” as the LAPD finally closes in on the Bling Ring, who absconded with millions in designer loot from stars like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Orlando Bloom.
• Host emphasizes: “If you’re picturing a group of hardened criminals, think again – this was actually the handiwork of a bunch of spoiled teenagers.”

2. Central Characters: Nick Prugo & Rachel Lee

• [02:02] Nick Prugo, a shy, closeted teen with acute social anxiety and ADHD, moves to Calabasas and meets Rachel Lee at continuation school.
• Rachel, a rebellious “queen bee” pushing back against her strict mother’s expectations, quickly becomes Nick’s idol and closest friend – bonded over “a shared love for style and celebs.”
  • “For a closeted gay teen with a passion for fashion like Nick Prugo, Rachel was the ultimate cool girl, representing everything he wanted to be.”

3. Escalation from Petty Theft to Celebrity Burglaries

• [03:54] The thrill-seeking duo starts by breaking into unlocked cars; emboldened, they begin robbing homes. Their first big break: seeing Paris Hilton’s fan (Eden Maymon aka “Eden Hilton”) post holiday plans on MySpace and burglarizing his house for $8,000 and jewelry.
• Social media is highlighted as a crucial enabler: “So thank God for social media and the time-honoured tradition of oversharing.”

4. Paris Hilton: The “Golden Era of Gossip” & First Big Heist

• [05:29] The teens shift targets to the real Paris Hilton.
  • Use gossip sites, celebrity address databases, and social media to track movements and plan.
  • Commentary on the era: “Perez Hilton did a lot of that damage his goddamn self. The veil between us and the stars was at its thinnest.”
  • Key quote (Nick’s mindset): “We’d already seen so much of Paris life that it didn’t feel like that much of a step to enter her house.” [05:29]
• [06:48] First break-in: Paris’s house key is under the doormat. They steal $3,000-$4,000 in luxury goods and cocaine.
  • The plan: don’t take too much so she doesn’t notice – “Very forward thinking. That I wouldn’t expect from them.”

5. Repeat Offenses & Group Expansion

• [08:17] Nick and Rachel return to Paris’s home at least five times, treating it like their “own personal department store.”
• They begin recruiting others:
  • Courtney Ames (Rachel’s friend) and Roy Lopez Jr. to help fence stolen goods.
  • Lopez takes $2M in jewelry in a single night (“enough for even the dumbest of blondes to get wise to.”)

6. Broadening the Target List

• [09:41] Heist at Audrina Partridge’s home on Oscar night, caught on surveillance footage posted to TMZ – but they aren’t identified.
• [12:51] Multiple break-ins at Rachel Bilson’s house: “At least 30 designer bags and pretty much her entire jewellery collection… about $130,000.”
  • Loss described as more sentimental than monetary.

7. Clubbing, New Recruits & Orlando Bloom’s Robbery

• [14:25] Nick mingles with party girls Tess Taylor and Alexis Neiers, using stolen goods as club entry barter. Alexis is the daughter of a Friends crew member and a former model, heavily involved in the LA nightlife.
  • “Nick has dismissed [Alexis’ ignorance] as bullshit.”
• [15:41] Jealousies fracture the group. Both Rachel and Nick invite plus-ones for the Orlando Bloom/Miranda Kerr job, netting $500,000 (including Bloom’s vintage Rolexes).

8. Final Score & The Downfall

• [17:54] Rachel moves to Vegas but returns for one last big heist: Lindsay Lohan’s home.
• Tension: “Nick said he had a bad feeling about it…” Lindsay’s house has cameras. The released footage ties them to all prior crimes and the LA Times dubs them “The Bling Ring.” [18:55]
• [19:10] An anonymous tip-off links the CCTV figures to Nick and Rachel (possibly Alexis Niers herself). Nick, under pressure, “instantly folded… and confessed to crimes the LAPD didn’t even know about yet.”

9. Prosecutions – and Absurd Aftermath

• [20:31] Alexis Niers’s reality show “Pretty Wild” captures her arrest (the “hippie Kardashians”), turning court proceedings into spectacle.
  • Notable moment: Alexis’ furious voicemail to Vanity Fair over courtroom shoe rumors: “the scene where Alexis leaves a voicemail for Nancy Jo Sales…”
  • Emma Watson later portrays Alexis in Sofia Coppola’s film “The Bling Ring.”
  • Nick’s bitterness: “He groaned that he was the real star of the story, while Alexis was just an extension.” [21:43]
• [22:18] Legal outcomes detailed – charges for all, with sentences ranging from short prison stints to probation and community service.
  • “All in all, it was hardly the rough justice the DA’s office had in mind for these teen rebels.”
• [24:57] The case unravels when lead LAPD investigator Brett Goodkin is barred from testifying due to a conflict of interest (consulting on Coppola’s film).
  • Quote from DA Christine Key: “The defendants wanted to be famous. The attorneys wanted to be famous, the police wanted to be famous. It’s like a fucked up LA Greek tragedy, like OJ Simpson.” [25:32]

10. The Irony of Bling Ring Fame

• [26:46] Both Alexis and Nick profit later as story consultants.
  • Final cutting remark: “For better or worse, these celebrity obsessed teens ended up getting the one thing they wanted all along. Their 15 minutes of fame. So, kids, we guess crime really does pay.” [26:46]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Bling Ring’s origins:
  • “This was actually the handiwork of a bunch of spoiled teenagers.” [01:32]
• On Paris Hilton’s burglary:
  • “When Rachel looked under the door mat, there was a spare fucking key.” [06:48]
• On social media’s role:
  • “Thank God for social media and the time-honored tradition of oversharing.” [03:54]
• On LA celebrity culture:
  • “The veil between us and the stars was at its thinnest.” [05:29]
• On the group’s brashness:
  • “They showed off their fancy new gear in social media snaps without a care in the world.” [08:17]
• On legal circus:
  • “The defendants wanted to be famous. The attorneys wanted to be famous, the police wanted to be famous. It’s like a fucked up LA Greek tragedy, like OJ Simpson.” [25:32]
• On the story’s ultimate message:
  • “These celebrity obsessed teens ended up getting the one thing they wanted all along. Their 15 minutes of fame. So, kids, we guess crime really does pay.” [26:46]

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Timeline: Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |:-----------:|-----------------------------------------------| | 01:14 | Case introduction; Bling Ring’s capture | | 02:02 | Nick Prugo & Rachel Lee’s backgrounds | | 03:54 | Shift to home break-ins; first major hit | | 05:29 | Planning and executing Paris Hilton burglary | | 06:48 | The Bling Ring’s repeat “shopping trips” | | 09:41 | Surveillance footage at Audrina Partridge’s | | 12:51 | Rachel Bilson’s home repeatedly burgled | | 14:25 | Club culture, Alexis Neiers, Orlando Bloom | | 17:54 | Lindsay Lohan heist; footage posted online | | 19:10 | Anonymous tip; Nick confesses, arrests begin | | 20:31 | Alexis Niers’ reality TV drama | | 22:18 | Sentencing breakdown | | 24:57 | Investigation compromised by movie tie-in | | 26:46 | Aftermath: reality vs. “true justice” |

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Tone & Style

The hosts use sarcastic humor and biting commentary, never letting their subjects off the hook but also poking fun at the wider LA ecosystem that fosters fame obsession and reckless privilege. They weave pop culture and celebrity references throughout—making the episode irreverent, fast-paced, and wickedly entertaining.

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Final Thoughts

RedHanded’s take on the Bling Ring case pulls back the curtain on a uniquely 2000s mash-up of social media stupidity, privilege, and the pathological LA desire for fame. The result? A gang of teens living out a “crime pays” fantasy — only to become a spectacle themselves in the ultimate meta twist.

Memorable Closing Line:
“These celebrity obsessed teens ended up getting the one thing they wanted all along. Their 15 minutes of fame. So, kids, we guess crime really does pay.” [26:46]

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

This Monday.com ad was created by a team of people and AI agents. Reese, our content agent, wrote the copy based on our best practices, like mentioning Monday.com three times. That was the second. Johnny, our coordination agent, built the timeline and kept everyone aligned. Olivia, our human creative director, stayed in the loop because agents are great, but they don't always know when a joke lands. She had one note tell listeners it only takes minutes to build an agent. So minutes. Create your own AI agent today on Monday.com.

[A]

Picture it la la land 2009 no, make me after Okay, I will with my words. After a 10 month spree, the LAPD finally caught the perpetrators behind a string of audacious burglaries targeting a listers including Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Orlando Bloom. The so called Bling Ring had nabbed millions of dollars worth of designer clothes and jewellery from these people's lavish homes. But if you're picturing a group of hardened criminals, think again because this was actually the handiwork of a bunch of spoiled teenagers. Want to know how and why a gang of fame obsessed kids pulled off some of the ballsiest heists in Hollywood history? This is the frankly ridiculous shorthand.

[C]

Let's rewind to June 2006 when 16 year old Nick Prugo moved to the ritzy LA suburb of Calabasas, which is Kardashian land. Nick's family had always been comfortably off thanks to his film exec dad, but this was a whole new world. Kids were driving Bentleys and Nick was mortified to be seen getting picked up in his mum's Honda. To make matters worse, puberty had hit Nick like a train, taking him from a flamboyant kid with dreams of stardom to a self conscious teen crippled by insecurities. He was diagnosed with ADHD anxiety and he missed school so often that he was sent to what's called a continuation school called Indian Hills. And that is where the bad kids went. And it was there that Nick met a girl called Rachel Lee and it all started to go terribly, terribly wrong. Kicked out of Calabasas High School for stealing a classmate's Ugg boots. Which is not only the most Californian thing I think I've ever said, but really dates this story. Rachel already had a reputation as a rebel. Pushing back against her strict Korean tiger mom's expectations, Rachel wanted to be, in her words, a badass. She partied hard, dabbled with drugs and became known as a popular girl at Indian Hills. Your classic queen bee figure who was voted best dressed in the yearbook and wouldn't be seen dead in non designer clothes, even for class. And for a closeted gay teen with a passion for fashion like Nick Prugo, Rachel was the ultimate cool girl, representing everything he wanted to be. The pair swiftly became besties after bonding over a shared love for style and celebs. And while Rachel described their friendship as super pure at first, let's just say it wouldn't stay that way very long.

[A]

After a party one night, Rachel jokingly tried a random luxury car door in their neighbourhood and lo and behold, it opened. She gleefully swiped a credit card that she found inside. And the next day, she and Nick went on an extravagant Rodeo Drive shopping spree. High on the adrenaline rush, they started regularly checking cars almost every night, pocketing cash, drugs and whatever else they could get their grubby mitts on. According to Nick, they even stole a few of the cars, brazenly driving them to school after changing the plates without being detected by police. Emboldened by their exploits, they nicknamed themselves Bonnie and Clyde and declared that they were each other's ride or die. The only snag. The partners in crime were running out of unlocked cars in Calabasas, blowing through their new piggy bank funds on designer gear and drugs, including Xanax and cocaine at alarming speed. Rachel and Nick were therefore in search of a new mark. So thank God for social media and the time honoured tradition of oversharing. Enter Nick's MySpace friend, Eden Maymon, aka Eden Hilton, a Paris Hilton superfan who made vlogs online pretending to be Hilton's sibling. When Eden guilelessly posted that he was off to Jamaica for a family holiday in early 2008, Nick and Rachel took it as an invitation. They broke into Eden's swanky Woodland Hills home, swiping eight grand in cash from under his parents bed, as well as several pieces of his mum's jewellery. They crossed a line. But it wouldn't be the last time

[C]

Nick and Rachel started setting their sights higher to a real Hilton. Yep, we are talking about the OG Nepo baby. And Reality star influencer Paris Hilton. The motive was simple. Rachel liked Paris style and she wanted a piece of her wardrobe, quite literally. Plus, they were counting on Paris reputation as a dumb blonde in the hopes that she might be more likely to have lax security at her home. But first, they had to do their homework. Nick found a website showing the addresses of Hollywood celebs and they used Google Maps to figure out how they would approach the gated mansion. Next, they cyberstalked Paris social media and gossip sites to track her movements. And we have to remember that this was what infamous online puppet master Perez Hilton dubbed the golden era of gossip in Hollywood, where for the first time, people had instant access to celebrity lives through social media and sites like tmz. And Perez Hilton did a lot of that damage his goddamn self. Paris Hilton herself got famous after the leak of a sex tape, killing any sense of privacy. The veil between us and the stars was at its thinnest. And as Nick put it, we'd already seen so much of Paris life that it didn't feel like that much of a step to enter her house.

[A]

And one night in October 2008, they took that step. Nick and Rachel knocked on the door of Paris's $6 million mansion with a vague plan. If somebody answered, they just make up an excuse for why they were there. But nobody did. And when Rachel looked under the door mat, there was a spare fucking key Inside the mansion, they were stunned by the sheer extravagance of Paris's home, where the walls were lined with photos of her like it was a museum to herself. While Nick kept watch of the door, Rachel slipped into Paris's bedroom and found a treasure trove of designer clothes, jewellery and handbags, loads of it with tags still on. It felt more like a luxury boutique than a real person's bedroom. So Nick and Rachel did what they did best. They went shopping. Hearts pounding. They grabbed dresses, bras, jewellery, as well as a shit ton of cocaine that they gleefully snorted before sneaking back out into the night. The loot from this first burglary totalled up to three to $4,000, which was basically just loose change to someone like Paris. So why didn't they go bigger? Well, Rachel and Nick were hoping Paris wouldn't actually notice that they dipped into her closet so that they could return for future sprees. Very forward thinking. That I wouldn't expect from them. Mm. So that's the plan. Because for these teen bandits, one night in Paris wasn't enough.

[C]

In fact, Rachel and Nick held onto that spare key and returned to Paris Hilton's home at least five times between October and December 2008. They jokingly referred to this as going shopping, treating the heiress wardrobe like their own personal department store. As for what they did with the stuff they stole, well, they wore it, obviously. Emboldened by the lack of any reports on sites like tmz, they showed off their fancy new gear in social media. Snaps without a care in the world, they bragged to their mates. And even got some of them involved, like Rachel's old school friend, Courtney Amis. Courtney introduced an older guy she knew through her waitressing job, 27 year old Roy Lopez Jr. Who was meant to flog the stuff that they didn't want for their own wardrobes. But Lopez clearly didn't get the memo about making sure Paris wouldn't notice, because one night in December, he got seriously carried away, clearing out up to $2 million worth of jewellery. It was enough for even the dumbest of blondes to get wise to. And Paris is a lot smarter than people think. She taught me about weaponising competence. Paris reported the robberies and the story was splashed all over the news. And suddenly the shutters were down on Nick and Rachel's favourite store. Which meant they had to find somewhere else for their retail therapy to fix.

[A]

Next on Rachel Lee's Fashion Wish list, Audrina Partridge, a reality star famous for appearing on the show the Hills, in which pretty people basically hung around Hollywood hotspots without really doing very much. And this next heist would be a classic Nick and Rachel special. The besties struck Partridge's Hollywood home on Oscar night in February 2009, certain that she'd be out at an industry party like the rest of Tinseltown. Slipping in via an open patio door, they nabbed $43,000 worth of clothes and jewelry, plus Audriana's passport and even a pair of custom fit jeans. But there was a teensy little problem. This time the duo were caught on camera. Audrina released the grainy CCTV footage showing a teen boy and girl sneaking around her home to her own website and also to tmz, appealing for her fan base to identify them. Miraculously, nobody came forward to grasp up Nick or Rachel. So for now at least, they were in the clear. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself to see if you're eligible to save money. When you bundle your home and auto policies, the process only takes minutes and could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[B]

This Monday.com ad was created by a team of people and AI agents. Reece, our content agent, wrote the copy based on our best practices, like mentioning Monday.com three times. That was the second. Johnny, our coordination agent, built the timeline and kept everyone aligned. Olivia, our human creative director, stayed in the loop because agents are great, but they don't always know when a joke lands. She had one tell listeners it only takes minutes to build an agent, so minutes. Create your own AI agent.

[C]

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[A]

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[C]

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[A]

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[B]

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[C]

Undeterred by their brush with discovery, they next targeted actress Rachel Bilson, one of the stars of Rachel Lee's favourite show, the oc. After seeing paparazzi snaps of her at the airport headed for a filming project in New York City, Nick and Rachel knew that her Los Feliz home would be empty, and they broke in at least five times between April and May 2009, with Nick famously recalling a time where Rachel felt so relaxed during a heist that she left a little present of her own in the bathroom. But if you are afraid we might be going down a grim DNA forensic mystery road here, we're not going to, because Nick assures everybody that she did. Obviously. Flush shits and giggles aside, Nick and Rachel did a serious number on Rachel Bilson's closet, stealing at least 30 designer bags and pretty much her entire jewellery collection to the total value of about $130,000. But for the actress, the biggest loss was sentimental rather than financial because they also took her mum's engagement ring and Jewellery that belonged to her grandma, as well as a vintage shoe collection that she had been curating for years. Somehow, Rachel and Nick's boredom busting side hustle had snowballed into a criminal enterprise and they had more stolen gear than they knew what to do with. They claim to have gone down to Venice beach with Rachel Bilson's accessories laid out on a blanket for $15 a pop in a bid to get rid of the extra loot.

[A]

And meanwhile, Nick and Rachel had even more emotional baggage to unpack. Nick had started spending a lot of time clubbing in la. And since that wasn't exactly Rachel's scene, he'd got close to two other girls named Tess Taylor and Alexis Niers. Alexis was a true LA baby who'd grown up around showbiz. Her dad was a director of photography on Friends and her mum Andrea was an ex glamour model. She and her best friend Tess were wannabe starlets determined to get famous doing gigs like Playboy shoots and half naked dancing for music videos. From the age of just 16, they were heavily involved in the Hollywood clubbing scene where they met Nick, who they helped get into clubs in exchange for castoffs from his robberies. And while Alexis claims that she had no knowledge of the burglaries and thought Nick was just a stylist giving away free clothes, Nick has dismissed this as bullshit.

[C]

Yeah man.

[A]

He said Alexis knew exactly what he was up to and what's more, she wanted in. Around this time, Nick and Rachel were planning their next heist, targeting a list actor Orlando Bloom and his live in girlfriend at the time, model Miranda Kerr. Rachel apparently wanted lingerie to match her new wardrobe and whose hand me down pants could be better than a Victoria's Secret angel.

[C]

But here is where things got awkward. Rachel felt jealous of Nick's new friendship with Alexis, while Nick similarly felt traded in by Rachel hanging out more with their school friend Diana Tamayo. So in a fit of pettiness, both Bonnie and Clyde ended up inviting a plus one into the blue mansion. On 13 July 2009, the ragtag gang of four cut through a wire security fence and crawled through it to gain entry into the grounds. In an attempt to trick the security cameras, they wore hoodies over their faces and walked backwards up the hill to the house. Alexis later claimed that she was so high that she didn't know where they were or what was going on. Nick has dismissed this as a crock of shit, though. The teens entered the house through an open window and stayed for about three hours, filling up bags of swag, including Bloom's incredibly valuable vintage Rolex collection. Rachel also grabbed artwork because she was due to move in with her dad in Las Vegas and she wanted to decorate her room. The total takings from this heist added up to a whopping $500,000. Nick sold the Rolexes to Courtney Ames dodgy boyfriend and a 28 year old club promoter named Johnny Ajar, which apparently means Johnny Dangerous, who let them in. Despite being underage.

[A]

After Orlando Bloom, Alexis got cold feet and didn't participate in any more robberies. But Nick, Rachel and Diana weren't ready for the party to stop just yet. In August, they attempted to break into Disney Channel star Ashley Tisdale's house knowing that she was away in Hawaii, but legged it when a housekeeper came to the door. Next, they snuck into the house of actor Brian Austin Green, with the real target being his girlfriend Megan Fox, another one of Rachel's favourite stars. They sent Diana through a doggie door swiping an expensive watch and a handgun, which they later sold to good old Johnny Dangerous. The celeb couple didn't actually notice that they'd been targeted for a few months. When news coverage of the robberies had picked up steam

[C]

that August, Rachel Lee went to live with her dad in the Nevada desert. But she soon got FOMO and couldn't resist going back to LA for one last rumble. And this one would be a biggie. Hollywood bad girl Lindsay Lohan, who Nick described as Rachel's ultimate fashion icon. On 23 August 2009, Nick, Rachel and Diana took a chance on Lindsay being out clubbing and targeted her rented Hollywood Hills home. Nick said he had a bad feeling about it. He was afraid that she might return at any moment and was pretty sure that she would have cameras installed. Still, he and Rachel boosted Diana into a window and they let themselves in. Nick said that Diana and Rachel's eyes were popping out of the riches in Lindsay's home. And the trio ended up stealing several watches, a Hermes bag, two paintings, a fur coat and other valuables worth over $100,000. But as it turned out, Nick's superstitious hunch had been correct. Lindsay did have cameras, and like Audrina Partridge, she released the footage online. By now it was undeniable that the two crimes had been committed by the same teenage culprits, with the LA Times famously dubbing them the Bling Ring.

[A]

Terrified that the net was closing in on them, a paranoid Nick had trouble sleeping and was even starting to lose his hair. But he wouldn't have to stress about keeping the secret for much longer because in September 2009, the LAPD got an anonymous tip from a caller claiming that the figures on the CCTV were Nick Prugo and Rachel Lee, who they'd overheard at a party bragging about their involvement with the robberies. That anonymous caller was none other than Alexis Niers, or at least she says it was. Nick was arrested on 17th September and instantly folded before even securing a plea deal. Nick ratted out all of the other members of the Bling Ring and confessed to crimes that the LAPD didn't even know about yet. Two weeks later, the police rounded up Diana Tayamo, Courtney ames, Roy Lopez Jr. And Johnny Ajar. Nick chucked Rachel under the bus by naming her as the ringleader, leading the police to bust into her dad's house and conduct a SWAT team style search of the premises. When they found topless pictures of Paris Hilton that had been taken from her unlocked safe, the jig was well and truly up. Hauled in for questioning, Rachel allegedly perked up and excitedly asked, what did Lindsay say? As if she wanted her idol's approval for robbing her blind.

[C]

But it was Alexis Niers who truly stole the show. In true Hollywood fashion, her arrest came while she was filming a pilot for a reality series called Pretty Wild, which followed Alexis and Tess desperate quest for fame. Alongside Mama Andrea's woo woo obsession with the Law of Attraction in what producers marketed as a sort of hippie Kardashians, the show was pretty much exactly as bonkers as you would expect think. Shots of the girls gyrating on nightclub tables intercut with bizarre affirmation rituals in their house that looks like an explosion at a Buddhist themed lawn ornament factory. And although it was cancelled after just one season, it brought us to this ridiculous scene where Alexis leaves a voicemail for Vanity Fair writer Nancy Jo Sales, who wrongly reported that she turned up to a court hearing wearing 6 inch Louboutins. While everyone involved had pinned Rachel Lee as the leader, she kept a low profile after her arrest, which is a lot more than we can say for Alexis and Nick. Alexis had the reality show's camera crew trailing behind her all the way through the legal proceedings, while Nick's own lawyer described him as fame addicted and more interested in seeking press attention than clearing his name in court. So despite Alexis only being involved in one of the burglaries, she quickly emerged as the face of the Bling Ring, with megastar Emma Watson later playing her as the protagonist in the Sofia Coppola directed film about the case in 2013. Needless to say, Alexis, nabbing the spotlight seriously pissed off her ex bestie nick in a 2022 Netflix documentary. He groaned that he was the real star of the story, while Alexis was just an extension.

[A]

But back in 2009, in the eyes of the law, it didn't really matter who had top billing, raking in a total of about $3 million in stolen property across all heists. Each individual member of the Bling Ring was charged with various counts, including residential burglary and possession of stolen goods. Nick faced the longest prison sentence with seven charges. Rachel had three charges, Diana had two, while Alexis Courtney and Roy Lopez had one charge each. Johnny Ajar was dealt with separately since he had other prior charges linked to his shady dealings. That landed him with a prison sentence of three years. Alexis Niers ended up pleading no contest to a single charge of residential burglary. In May 2010, she was sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years probation, plus an order to pay $600,000 in restitution to Orlando Bloom this episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy. Just drop in some details about yourself to see if you're eligible to save money when you bundle your home and auto policies. The process only takes minutes and could mean hundreds more in your pocket. Visit progressive.com after this episode to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[B]

This Monday.com ad was created by a team of people and AI agents. Reese, our content agent, wrote the copy based on our best practice practices, like mentioning Monday.com three times. That was the second. Johnny, our coordination agent, built the timeline and kept everyone aligned. Olivia, our human creative director, stayed in the loop because agents are great, but they don't always know when a joke lands. She had one note tell listeners it only takes minutes to build an agent, so minutes. Create your own AI agent. Today on Monday.com

[A]

Alexis was ironically placed in the same jail block as Lindsay Lohan, who was in there for DUI charges. And while we wish we could have been a fly on that particular cell wall, disappointingly they didn't interact in true Tinseltown style. Alexis served just 32 days behind bars before walking free. Rachel Lee ended up pleading no contest to one charge of residential burglary, admitting to stealing $25,000 worth of goods from Audrina Partridge. She was sentenced to four years in prison and on the 25th of October 2011. She was released after just a year and four months in 2013.

[C]

And while Nick Prugo, Courtney Ames, Diana Tamayo and Roy Lopez Jr. Were supposed to be headed for trial, a Hollywood twist turned the whole case upside down. When lead police investigator Brett Goodkin took a paid consulting gig during the production of Sofia Coppola's 2013 movie The Bling Ring without disclosing it to the LAPD, and even appeared in a cameo scene in the final film. This utterly fucked his credibility, preventing him from testifying at any future trials. Fucking good.

[A]

Oh my God.

[C]

And that blew a big hole in the DA's offence case. With the Deputy DA Christine Key despairing. The defendants wanted to be famous. The attorneys wanted to be famous, the police wanted to be famous. It's like a fucked up LA Green tragedy, like OJ Simpson. As a result, the prosecutors had to give up any hope of securing prison sentences for the remaining Bling Ring members and settled the case with much weaker plea deals. Despite literally wearing Paris Hilton's jewellery to court, Courtney Ames pled no contest to just one count of receiving stolen goods and was sentenced to 60 days of community service and three years probation. Roy Lopez pleaded no contest to receiving stolen goods and got just three years probation. Diana Tamio ended up pleading no contest to one count of residential burglary for the Lindsay Lohan case, receiving 60 days of community service and three years probation. And last up was Nick Prugo. In April 2013, he pleaded no contest to the burglaries of Audrina Partridge and Lindsay Lohan, and he was sentenced to two years in prison. But he'd already spent a year at county jail and his good behaviour meant that they wrote off the remaining year. So basically he just walked free then and there.

[A]

All in all, it was hardly the rough justice the DA's office had in mind for these teen rebels. And in the most Bling Ring twist imaginable, both Alexis and Nick actually ended up profiting from their crimes by acting as story consultants on Sofia Coppola's movie. For better or worse, these celebrity obsessed teens ended up getting the one thing they wanted all along. Their 15 minutes of fame. So, kids, we guess crime really does pay.

[C]

Unbelievable show that Nic Cage is a Coppola Changed it.

[A]

Is he?

[B]

Wow.

[A]

All right, there you go. The only thing I really know about the Coppolas, other than the films, is Francis Ford Coppola about how he sold all of his, like, vineyards and all of his businesses and all of his property in order to make that terrible, terrible, terrible thing film Megalopolis or something.

[C]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

That is honestly a story in itself. Like how many times he tried to make that film and all of the things that stopped him. It was like the universe was telling him, don't do this. And it completely bankrupted him.

[C]

Nicolas Cage is his nephew.

[A]

Oh, there you go. And he was bankrupted by buying dinosaur bones.

[C]

I didn't have to watch him do it though.

[A]

I know you didn't. That's it. We will see you next week for another shorthand.

[C]

Bye.

[A]

Bye. Bye.

[E]

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