Several months ago, Kim Kardashian’s friend Jonathan Cheban was robbed of a very expensive timepiece in a terrifying experience in New Jersey.
Federal authorities in New York City have now brought charges against the man accused of the armed robbery.
The arrest happened on Friday, with the suspect set to go before a judge next week.
Suspect arrested in Cheban armed robbery case
Based on a WCTI 12 report, suspect Victor Rivera was arrested on Friday, November 20, in Miami, Florida. He’s accused of stealing Jonathan Cheban’s $250,000 Richard Mille timepiece.
Rivera will appear before a judge in Miami next week, but it was unknown as of this writing if he had any legal representation.
Cheban was originally the victim of the armed robbery back in August. As he arrived at a friend’s home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, two men approached.
They allegedly asked Cheban for the time and then pulled a gun on him, forcing him to give them his watch.
This past June, the same suspect was involved in another robbery in New York, also involving a Richard Mille watch. In that particular incident, prosecutors said a victim was shot and wounded.
“It was a horrific experience, but thankfully we are fine,” Cheban originally told People after the incident occurred. “I left Manhattan for the suburbs, and the crime is following.”
Kim K previously part of a terrifying armed robbery
Back in 2016, Cheban’s reality television star friend Kim Kardashian was part of the Paris heist that made headlines. In October of that year, Kim was robbed by five men dressed as police officers who held her at gunpoint and tied her up.
Per USA Today’s report in 2016, the robbers took off with a jewelry box with valuables inside worth around $7 million, as well as a ring worth $4.5 million.
Kardashian’s insurer ended up paying for the cost of all the jewelry that was stolen in the incident and also filed a $6.1 million lawsuit against her bodyguards. They alleged in the lawsuit that the security guard and his protective firm left Kardashian alone in her hotel room and that there were numerous security breaches left unaddressed.
She cried as she talked about the traumatic experience to David Letterman on an episode of the Netflix series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. It left her shaken up, and at the time, she feared for her life and worried about her family. That included her worry that sister Kourtney would discover her dead body.
“She’s gonna come home and I’m going to be dead in the room. She’s gonna be traumatized for the rest of her life if she sees me.’ We’re sharing her room. [I’m] on her bed. But I thought that was my fate,” Kim Kardashian said regarding her thought process during the robbery.
Fortunately, both Kim Kardashian and Jonathan Cheban were able to get out of these scary situations unharmed.
Cheban is a recurring cast member on KUWTK
Jonathan Cheban, who also goes by the name “Foodgod,” has been a regular on Keeping Up With the Kardashians as one of Kim’s good friends. In fact, this past October, Cheban was part of a group Halloween costume with Kim K and her kids. They dressed up as various people and the tigers from the Netflix Tiger King documentary. Jonathan and Kim were Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin, respectively.
He currently boasts an Instagram page with 3.5 million followers, where he shows off the various stylish cuisine he creates. The IG page also shows off Jonathan at various fancy restaurants or hanging out with celebrities, including his friend Kim Kardashian, Wendy Williams, Tekashi 69, and Post Malone.
Keeping Up With the Kardashians returns to E! in 2021.