YouTube Pranksters Facing Felony Charges After Faking A Bank Robbery

The popular YouTubers, 23, have 4.8 million followers on their channel, which is largely devoted to videos of pranks and general goofing around with each other.

However, a prank involving a fake bank robbery that they tried in October 2019 went over a line, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

For the prank, the pair donned black ski masks and clothing and went around a street asking random strangers where the nearest bank was so they could make a "large withdrawal."

In itself, that could be humorous, but they crossed a line when they summoned an Uber, got in, and told the driver to "step on the gas," saying their getaway driver had bailed on them.

The bystander told police that they had witnessed a pair of bank robbers trying to carjack someone. The Uber driver, of course, had no intention of taking the twins anywhere. However, the police soon arrived and pulled their guns on the Uber driver.

As NBC News reported, the situation de-escalated when police determined the driver wasn't actually involved in anything.

One of the officers reportedly spoke to the twins and told them "I want you guys to be creative and do what you want to do, but you've got to be smarter than this. What do you think people are going to do?"

However, as CNN reported, the warning appeared to not be enough as police received reports of similar activity coming from the University of California, Irvine campus a few hours later.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer called the fake robberies a "twisted attempt to gain more popularity on the internet," according to CNN.

"These were not pranks. These are crimes that could have resulted in someone getting seriously injured or even killed," he said.

The twins face charges of false imprisonment, which is a felony, and reporting a false emergency, a misdemeanor. If convicted, they could face up to four years in prison.

h/t: NBC News, CNN