Pedophile hunter gets satisfying taste of his own medicine after falsely accusing innocent man of being child sex fiend on livestream viewed by thousands

By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:40, 10 June 2026 | Updated: 21:46, 10 June 2026 An online 'pedophile hunter' faced a torrent of backlash and lost his streaming account after falsely accusing an innocent man of being a child sex offender.  Popular streamer Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, 34, was slammed after livestreaming himself confronting Akash Singhania, 25, in a parking lot in Santa Ana, California, in April as part of his series, Catching Child Predators.  Known by his online moniker Vitaly, the streamer boasts over 10 million subscribers on YouTube, and earns millions through the platform Kick, where he often filmed himself snaring pedophiles on camera.  Like many shows of the same genre, Vitaly's strategy involves using a 'decoy' girl to pretend to be underage and lure men into compromising situations by arranging to meet on hookup apps.  But in one episode in April, Vitaly's decoy said she had lured Singhania to a parking lot, claiming to have told him she was 16. Police have since established that was not true, per the New York Times.  In footage that was watched live by over 24,000 people and went viral across social media, Vitaly was seen surprising Singhania as he arrived for the hookup, rushing at him and screaming 'Mr Mumbai' in his face. Vitaly then danced around Singhania singing a crude Bollywood tune, chanting at him in an Indian accent, 'You want to rape a 16-year-old.' Singhania instantly pleaded his innocence and said the girl never claimed to be a minor, but the damage was already done as his face was plastered across the internet as Vitaly's army of online followers piled on.  Popular streamer Vitaly Zdorovetskiy, 34, faced a torrent of backlash and lost his streaming account after falsely accusing an innocent man of being a child sex offender in a viral video Akash Singhania, 25, said his life was ruined when he was falsely accused by Vitaly of being a pedophile, as he faced a wave of abuse from online trolls  Singhania was seen in the footage pleading, 'She never told me she was 16', and brought up messages they had sent each other on the dating app Pure, trying to prove he was not a pedophile.  He called 911, but said police officers instantly recognized Vitaly and shook his hand, took pictures, and believed the situation was one of the streamer's popular videos confronting predators.  Singhania was arrested at the scene, while Vitaly thought he had created social media gold, turning to his cameraman and remarking, 'Perfect guy, perfect clip.'  At the Santa Ana Police Department, Singhania proved he was not meeting up with a minor and was released following an interrogation.  In a phone call recorded by his father, a police officer admitted the situation had been a misunderstanding, telling him, 'Your son was at the wrong place at the wrong time', reports the New York Times.  While he was not facing legal ramifications, Singhania said the stream turned his life upside down, and he was faced with a wave of abuse and harassment from Vitaly's mob.  He said his family were also bombarded with hateful messages and phone calls, as online trolls sent emails to their workplaces and 'doxxed' Akash.  Vitaly boasts a net worth of up to $10 million, and his clip of Singhania garnered him millions of views to his Kick stream, where he receives ad money through sponsorships with gambling platforms.  In footage that went viral across social media, Vitaly was seen surprising Singhania as he arrived for the hookup, rushing at him and screaming 'Mr Mumbai' in his face as he danced around him doing an Indian accent Vitaly boasts over 10 million YouTube followers and often streams hit show Catching Child Predators to his legions of fans  Singhania said he was arrested and interrogated by police before they admitted he was the victim of being 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'   But once his targeting of an innocent man was realized, the streamer became a new enemy, with many turning on him for ruining Singhania's life. Kick eventually suspended Vitaly's account, dealing him a taste of his own medicine as the online wave of abuse severed his revenue stream and humiliated him online.  Singhania said he spoke to Vitaly over the phone, telling the Times that the streamer apologized to him and admitted his team had messed up - accusing the 'decoy' of falsely telling him that she told Singhania she was 16, when she had not. The fallout from Vitaly's mistake led him to post an apology to X, telling his followers that the man had been 'cleared of all wrongdoing' and urging fans to delete the video from the internet.  Vitaly's lawyer Doug Johnson told the Times in a statement: 'Vitaly categorically denies any allegations of illegality or intentional wrongdoing.'  Vitaly was kicked off the streaming platform Kick and was hounded by fans for his mistake, as his attorney said he 'categorically denies any allegations of illegality or intentional wrongdoing' Vitaly went on to apologize on X  He explained that his 'decoy mistakenly told him that she had told Mr. Singhania that she was 16 years old... Vitaly had no knowledge of Akash Singhania before the decoy arranged the meet-up.'  'Reporting predators to law enforcement has been a central component of Vitaly’s mission,' he said.  'In almost all cases, Vitaly’s team contacted law enforcement. There were limited exceptions in which local authorities advised the team that they would not respond and to stop calling.'  The Daily Mail has contacted Johnson for further comment.  Singhania's attorney said he is considering his legal options, including potentially filing a defamation lawsuit against Vitaly and his team.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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