Wonder if he can make this one disappear.
Magician David Copperfield is being investigated by the FBI, authorities say, although they won’t comment about the nature of the investigation.
Agents raided the legendary magician’s belongings Wednesday night. A search was conducted of a warehouse in Las Vegas where Copperfield stores items for his show. The raid reportedly stems from an ongoing case in Seattle.
The nature of the case? Federal authorities in Seattle apparently are involved in an investigation of David Copperfield for “possible sexual misconduct by the illusionist,” according to a source in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
According to the Las Vegas newspaper, David Copperfield’s accuser said that the alleged misconduct occurred outside the U.S., but the case came under the FBI’s jurisdiction because the accuser is a U.S. citizen.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer called local authorities seeking comment but did not get far. A spokeswoman for the FBI’s Seattle office declined to discuss aspects of the case on the grounds that the investigation is pending.
A separate TV news station reported that at a dozen federal agents “stormed” a warehouse connected to David Copperfield, seizing a computer hard drive, a digital camera system and nearly $2 million in cash.
David Chesnoff, Copperfield’s lawyer, said: “There is an investigation, we are in touch with investigators, and respect the confidentiality of the investigation.”
UPDATE: The FOX News Channel is reporting as of Friday afternoon that a Seattle woman is alleging that David Copperfield raped her.
The woman told Seattle police the magician committed rape while she was in the Bahamas in July. Because the alleged incident happened outside the country and the woman did not report the alleged incident until she returned to the United States, Seattle authorities turned the case over to the FBI.
Sources say that no rape kit was done on the alleged victim in the Bahamas, which could make prosecution of David Copperfield for rape difficult.
Regardless, David’s situation sounds serious. It’s enough to make the marital troubles faced by fellow illusionist, Criss Angel, seem tame by comparison.
More to come …