Images purportedly depicting two suspects in connection with the October 2025 jewel heist from the Louvre are circulating online. For example, Facebook account @The Lamented posted the images (archived) on Oct. 28, writing:
Two suspects arrested over Louvre jewel heist BREAK the INTERNET as housewives across France encourage robbers to steal theirs next.
Marie from Nice said: ‘I’ve unlocked my jewellery box and left the front door open. Cest la vie’.
Claudine from Lyon said: ‘If they fancy another heist, my pearls are ready and so am I’ she déploréd.
Variations of the rumor spread on X (archived), as well.
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. However, there was no evidence of the two men pictured are the suspects in the jewel heist case.
Rather, Facebook account @The Lamented describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature and has a history of making up stories for shares and comments. Its bio states:
The Lamented: where truth goes to die and sarcasm reigns supreme. Serving up satire, nonsense, and gloriously unreliable stories.
The images were of real people, though they had no connection to the Louvre heist. Images of the man on the left have circulated online since at least 2010. According to Arrests.org, he is Stefan Alexander Dolbashian from Florida, but this is unverified. The man on the right is actor Chace Crawford in a 2010 arrest, best known for playing Nate Archibald on Gossip Girl.
The fictional story spread as French authorities claimed on Oct. 29 two men partially confessed to the theft, but they have not, as of this writing, officially released any images of the suspects.
Snopes has addressed similar claims about the October 2025 Louvre heist, including the assertion that an image depicted a dapper detective on the case and a rumor that the stolen jewels appeared on a Russian classifieds site.
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.
