Russia- While Russian parliamentarians are displaying their outrage at the reality-show mania that is sweeping the nation’s television, at least one show – Dom-2 – has proven to be a hotbed for criminals and porn stars. Turns out one of the participants on the show was a mugger who was on a police wanted list for fraud and robbery. The irony is that if it wasn’t for the show, this repeat offender’s victim wouldn’t have recognized the young man on the screen as the “real estate agent” who once defrauded her of $1,900.

The story of Alexei Adveyev, 25, culminated on July 19, when police, tipped off by the woman, raided the territory of Dom-2 and arrested their culprit right off the set, leading him off in handcuffs. The incident was not filmed live, however: The “reality show” airs 6-7 days after being filmed, and Avdeyev’s fans learned that he was off only on July 25, when the host announced that “Alexei was forced to leave the show,” without any other details save that “we will keep track of what happens to him next.”

Even before joining the show, Avdeyev had a trail of criminal activity that the show’s producers failed to notice for some reason. According to unofficial sources cited by tabloid news agencies, Avdeyev, who hails from western Russia’s Smolensk, was involved in a series of shady robberies. According to conflicting reports, he had either served a sentence for car theft and bribery, or was given a suspended sentence for robbery. Whatever the case, his criminal record was officially clear by the time he joined the show.

But that didn’t last for long. Quickly gaining popularity among the show’s fans, Avdeyev began attracting negative attention as well. In particular, one former victim came forward in the show’s forum, describing how he had been mugged in Moscow by a gang that included Avdeyev.

“It was a typical mugging: three guys 15 to 25, and who would you have thought was the older? That’s right, Avdeyev. So there’s a typical fight, with the youngest one grabbing me by the jacket.”

So loath was the anonymous poster to part with his laptop and cash salary, that he dragged Avdeyev out into the middle of a thoroughfare in the skirmish that ensued. “If we get hit, than we’ll get hit together, I reasoned. But I’m not letting them have my laptop.” In the end, the gang let go of him – and his valuables.

Another woman, the one who alerted police after seeing Avdeyev on her TV screen, wasn’t so lucky. According to police, just before joining the show, Avdeyev, looking for ways to make more money illegally, had gotten a job as a real estate agent in Smolensk. And, he decided to cheat his very first client. The woman told police that she gave him a security deposit of $1,900. He then told her to wait while he stepped outside the office to make a phone call… and never returned.

Now, Avdeyev faces up to five years in prison, if convicted. But it’s hard to say if he succeeded in tarnishing the show’s reputation. Just one year ago, Dom-2 was the center of a scandal over implications it featured porn stars.

Soon after one Yelena Berkova [pictured] joined the show, a leak alleged that she had worked as an actress in the films made by Russia’s leading hardcore pornographer, Sergei Pryanishnikov. And while Berkova was immediately taken off the show, word has it there are “special” pirated Dom-2 “episodes” featuring Berkova.

So far, there has been no word from the Duma deputies who earlier this May demanded the show be banned and its hosts imprisoned for promoting prostitution. But the new incident may mean that we’ll be hearing again about that letter the Duma Public Health Committee sent to President Vladimir Putin.