A video collage showing police arrests alongside visuals of multiple fires is now being circulated with the claim that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in United States has arrested the CEO of a company accused of planning the Los Angeles, California fire to develop a real estate project.
BOOM found no evidence that the FBI made any such arrest in connection with the LA fire. Additionally, the visuals of people being arrested in the video do not support the claim narrated in the footage.
Los Angeles in Southern California is grappling with the devastating impact of wildfires that began in the first week of January. The New York Times reported that the fires in and around Los Angeles have destroyed neighborhoods, claimed at least 25 lives, and forced urgent evacuations.
The 1 minute 19 second video includes visuals of the wildfire, police arresting people, and the voice of a female narrator claiming the FBI arrested the CEO of Westland Developments, Richard Graves, for allegedly causing the Los Angeles fire. According to the narrator, the CEO had millions of dollars in interest tied to the scorched lands, planning to transform them into a large real estate project. The narrator also claimed that Graves used sophisticated methods to mimic natural fires, making it nearly impossible to trace the criminal acts back to him, and hinted at other companies being involved in a larger conspiracy to profit from the destruction of protected areas.
The video is being shared with a caption, "*Shocking Breaking News ~ The Culprit for the California Inferno arrested by FBI*"
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
Fact Check
BOOM ran a keyword search about the FBI arresting 'Westland Developments' CEO Richard Graves' in connection with the LA wildfires but found no credible news reports to confirm the same. Furthermore, we checked the crime records maintained by the FBI but found no record of such an arrest being made in connection with the recent wildfire incident in Los Angeles as claimed.
We did find reports of local police arresting more than 40 suspects within Santa Monica evacuation zones over the past week. But these were people arrested for violating local emergency orders and the city and county curfew orders from January 7 through January 12, 2025.
The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) also issued a press release on January 13, 2025, regarding arrests in the city’s fire evacuation zones. An excerpt from the release states, "Ten subjects were arrested for burglary...six were in possession of burglary tools. The rest were arrested for other violations, including curfew, drug possession, driving violations, outstanding warrants, parole and probation violations, etc. Two of the individuals were in possession of concealed handguns. None of the arrestees are from Santa Monica."
We then reviewed the SMPD daily arrest reports from January 7 to January 14 but found no mention of 'Richard Graves' in those reports.
Additionally, we did not find any evidence of a company Westland Developments with a owner named Richard Graves. A search for the name led showed two companies with similar names -- a Westland Developments Ltd., based in British Columbia, which focuses on renovations and custom homes, and a property management company called Westland Development Group, based in California.
Authenticity of Visuals of Arrests in the Viral Footage
Footage 1: A reverse image search of a keyframe showing a man surrendering to few security officials led us to an article published by The National on April 14, 2023, featuring similar visuals.
The article reported that Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was arrested in Massachusetts following an investigation into the alleged unauthorised removal, retention, and transmission of classified U.S. defense information. It also added that the FBI carried out the arrest.
Footage 2: We ran a reverse image search on the frame and found a Daily Mail report featuring similar visuals. The report stated that the individual in the video, detained by residents with a blowtorch near the Los Angeles fires and later arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), was found to be an illegal immigrant.
A report published by Los Angeles Times on January 14, 2025, identified the detained man as Juan Manuel Sierra. It states, "Juan Manuel Sierra, 33, a.k.a. Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva, was arrested Thursday by the Los Angeles Police Department for violating felony probation after “attempting to start a fire” in a West Hills neighborhood near the location of the Kenneth fire. He is a suspect in connection with the nearly 1,000-acre blaze, according to law enforcement officials and a document reviewed by The Times."
The report cited Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials stating that Sierra is a Mexican national who unlawfully entered the U.S. at an unknown date and location without inspection by an immigration official.
For further confirmation, we reached out to the FBI to verify the claims in the video. Laura Eimiller from FBI Press Relations replied to BOOM, saying, "I am not familiar with this name or charges against anyone associated with the fire at this time."