The ringleader of the group, Lee lived in Calabasas with her mother. Lee and her older sister had a good upbringing, and she drove a white Audi A4 to school, where she was named "Best Dressed" in the 2007 yearbook. She was expelled from Calabasas High School so she attended Indian Hills High School, an alternative school that awarded her a creative arts scholarship upon graduating. A year later, she was fined and put on probation for a petty theft incident in which she and Diana Tamayo stole $85 of merchandise from a Sephoracosmetics store. According to fellow burglar Nick Prugo, Lee was obsessed with reality television. Toward the end of the crime spree, Lee moved to Las Vegas to live with her father.

Nicholas Frank Prugo was reported to be a shy guy, who was transferred to Indian Hills High School after being expelled from Calabasas High School for excessive absences. In 2003, Prugo had a role as "Kenny" in Little Lost Souls: Children Possessed, a made-for-TV quasi-documentary about the exorcism of children whose parents believe them to be possessed by evil. Lee befriended Prugo after he arrived at Indian Hills, and introduced him to most of the other people who would eventually join the crime spree. The two initially bonded over their interest in fashion and social media. After being accepted into her circle of friends and participating in their nightlife activities, Prugo became hooked on drugs, and began stealing from his parents to support his addiction. The first home they burgled together occurred during the summer after tenth grade, when he claims that Lee suggested they burgle the residence of an acquaintance from Woodland Hills whom Prugo knew to be out of town at the time. Prugo claims to have been reluctant, but didn't want to risk losing her friendship. During that first burglary, they reportedly discovered $8,000 in cash hidden under a bed. They split the money, and the next day went on a shopping spree on Rodeo Drive. Prugo and Lee began checking the doors of expensive cars parked in their neighborhood, to see if they were unlocked, on an almost nightly basis. They would take credit cards found in the cars, and go shopping the next day in areas like Melrose Avenue. They would be dressed well, and according to Prugo, merchants never questioned their use of the cards. He was sentenced to two years in state prison after pleading no contest to 3 counts of first degree residential burglary. He was released from prison on probation after serving 1 year.

Alexis Neiers had been part of Lee's social circle at Indian Hills. At one point, she was kicked out of her home by her mother for, according to police, smoking OxyContin.

She claimed that police searched her home and found nothing. However, police reported that they found stolen items in the possession of Neiers, her sister Gabrielle, and their adopted sister Tess Taylor, and that she was caught on camera leaving the scene of the crime with stolen bags. She initially denied any wrongdoing, but later changed her plea in court to no contest.

Diana Tamayo was, in 2008, the student body president at Indian Hills, where she had been voted "best smile," and been awarded a $1,500 "Future Teacher" scholarship after graduation. She seemed to be semi affluent as she drove a Lincoln Navigator, was known for getting into fights. Along with Lee, she had been fined and put on probation for engaging in petty theft. According to Prugo, her entire wardrobe consisted of stolen items. Her small size was utilized during one burglary in which she gained the group access to a home by crawling through a dog door.

Courtney Ames, whose stepfather is boxer Randy Shields, was a Calabasas High School student and an "old friend" of Lee's. It was through Ames that the others met Lopez and Ajar, her boyfriend.

An unidentified tipster informed police that Lee and Prugo were responsible for the Lohan burglary. Prugo's face had been captured on surveillance at the home, and the police determined through Facebook that Lee and Prugo were friends. Prugo was arrested, and initially denied having had anything to do with the burglaries, but said that anxiety due to his involvement was preventing him from being able to eat, sleep, and breathe normally, and made him lose his hair. He confessed to the police without first getting a plea deal, telling them about crimes they were not even aware had been committed. He also told them that other potential targets were still being researched by the ring, among them Miley Cyrus, Zac Efron, Hilary Duff, and Vanessa Hudgens.

Two weeks after Prugo's confessions, search warrants for the other ring participants were issued by the Los Angeles Police Department. Lee, Tamayo, Ames, Neiers, and Lopez were all subsequently arrested for their connection to the burglaries. Lee was taken into custody while at her father's home in Las Vegas. Police reported that she calmly asked them hypothetical questions about how it might help her if she did in fact have information and shared that information with police. Their report stated that she clearly believed she'd removed all incriminating evidence from her home. However, police found a coat identified as belonging to Lohan, and topless pictures of Hilton which had been left in an unlocked safe in Hilton's home. Seeing this, Lee was reported to have instantly turned hysterical, acting as though she were suddenly sick, and gagging as though she were going to vomit. Other items reported to have been seized from Lee were a jar of marijuana and more than $20,000 in $100 bills.

People magazine reported that the members of the ring except for Lee were booked for residential burglary, with bail set at $50,000, while Lee was held for "possession of stolen property", with bail set at only $3,000. However, Vanity Fair reported that Lee was charged with residential burglary for the Lohan, Hilton, and Patridge heists. At the time of the arrests it was unclear whether the burglary of the Bilson residence, and other burglaries of the Kourtney Kardashian and Hayden Panettiere homes had been committed by the group. Among items reportedly seized by police from Ajar were three guns, drugs, and a laptop computer with aerial photos of 51 homes in Hollywood Hills. He was thus charged with additional offenses related to weapons and drug possession. Whereas Lee was reportedly charged with three counts of residential burglary, Prugo was charged with seven, each count carrying sentences between 2 and 6 years. All members initially pleaded not guilty.

After learning that Orlando Bloom was willing to testify against her, Neiers agreed to plead no contest to residential burglary, and was sentenced on May 10, 2010, to a jail term of 180 days, with an additional three years of probation, as well as being ordered to pay $600,000 worth of restitution to the actor. During her stay at the Century Regional Detention Facility, she occupied the same cell block as Bling Ring victim Lindsay Lohan, but says they never spoke to each other. After serving 30 days of her sentence, she was released.


In December 2010, Neiers was arrested again, this time for possession of heroin. Rather than being sentenced to further time behind bars, she was allowed to live at a luxury rehab facility in Malibu for a year, having been offered her stay free of charge by the facility's owner, who attended her hearing. She was at the facility from December 2010 until December 2011. In an entry posted to her blog in April 2013, she stated that she has been sober since then, and has become a counselor interning at the facility. She is now married to Canadian businessman Evan Haines, whom she met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and together they have two daughters, Harper and Dakota.

Alleged ringleader Lee was sentenced on October 26, 2011. She had pleaded no contest to the burglary of over $25,000 worth of valuables from the home of Audrina Patridge. Judge Larry Fidler dismissed a charge of conspiracy to commit burglary as well as two counts filed against her of receiving stolen property. He had also previously dismissed charges against her involving the Lohan burglary. Lee was sentenced to four years in prison.

Lee's prison coach, Wendy Feldman, was quoted as saying "She has taken full responsibility for her actions. Her attitude is that she is very much ready to go to prison and face the consequences." Regarding the role Lee played in the burglaries, Feldman went on to state "To be honest, Rachel has a learning disability, she doesn't have a particularly high IQ and I find it hard to think she could have been the one to instigate the whole thing".

While serving time, Lee participated in a disaster relief training program called Fire Camp. In March 2013, after having served 1 year and 4 months, she was released on parole.

On October 19, 2012, after pleading no contest to having burgled Lindsay Lohan's house, Diana Tamayo was sentenced to three years of probation, as well as 60 days of community service. If convicted at trial, she would have faced up to six years in prison. Her lawyer claimed she had admitted to police that she broke in after they threatened her family with "immigration consequences". She is reportedly pursuing a career in fitness and nutrition, and claims to have "found God"

Courtney Ames was sentenced on December 14, 2012, to three years of probation and two months of community service. She had admitted to having received a jacket stolen from Paris Hilton, but charges against her of conspiracy to commit burglary, burglary and receiving stolen property were dismissed in light of possible ethics violations on the part of detective Brett Goodkin, the main investigator in the Bling Ring case. She went on to enroll in college, where, according to her lawyer, she was studying psychology, speech and child development.

Having pleaded no contest to the burglaries of Patridge and Lohan, Nicholas Prugo was sentenced on April 15, 2013, to two years in prison. He received credit for a year of time already served, and was further credited with a year for good behavior and work time. He was reported to be living in Studio City as of June 2013.

The Bling Ring, a Lifetime television movie documenting the group's activities, aired on September 26, 2011. It stars Austin Butler as Zack Garvey (based on Nick Prugo), Yin Changas Natalie Kim (based on Rachel Lee), Spencer Locke as Maddie Bishop (based on Alexis Neiers), Tracey Fairaway as Cherry Cox (based on Diana Tamayo), and Tom Irwin as Detective Archie Fishman (loosely based on Det. Brett Goodkin). Jennifer Grey has a supporting role as Garvey's mother, Iris.

Another film adaptation, also titled The Bling Ring, directed by Sofia Coppola^[44] began filming in March 2012 and was released in June 2013. The film stars Emma Watson(Nicki), Taissa Farmiga (Sam) and Leslie Mann (Laurie), as well as newcomers Israel Broussard (Marc), Katie Chang (Rebecca), Claire Julien (Chloe) and Georgia Rock (Emily). One of the ring's real-life victims, Paris Hilton, appears as herself in the film. However, Tamayo or a character based on her is absent in the movie.