CoolKicks Founder Adeel Shams Arrested after $500,000 of Stolen Nikes Seized by LAPD
Updated on •PublishedQuick Facts
- CoolKicks founder Adeel Shams was arrested on October 2
- The LAPD raided the store's warehouse
- Shams was booked on felony charges by the LAPD's BUNCO/FORGERY division
- The BUNCO/FORGERY division handles cases involving fraud, counterfeit goods, and more
- The LAPD stated they recovered $500,000 worth of stolen Nike sneakers from the store
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With the economics of the sneaker resale game shifting entirely recently, we’ve seen storefronts go under for not paying bills, falling behind on payments to consignors, or getting caught up in legal cases regarding counterfeit products. Next up in the long list of stores making headlines for negative reasons is CoolKicks LA, as the store’s warehouse was raided by the LAPD.
CoolKicks was founded by Adeel Shams and friends in 2014 in Richmond, Virginia, where Shams was attending Virginia Commonwealth University. The business grew and CoolKicks moved out to Los Angeles, opening their famous storefront on Melrose in 2016. Adeel leveraged the growing online sneaker YouTube scene to push the brand even further, with the CoolKicks YouTube currently sitting at 1.95 million subscribers. Scrolling through their past videos, you’ll find a wide range of celebrities, athletes, influencers, and more who have appeared on their channel. Even CoolKicks interns like Rami the Icon have carved out their own massive social following as sneaker content creators.
The resale scene in sneakers is much different today than it was even just two years ago. Sneakers aren’t necessarily paying the bills for the shops, with many resorting to flipping Labubus on streaming sites like WhatNot. That’s what CoolKicks has been up to lately, though they still sell clothing and sneakers on the platform.
In a clip from their WhatNot livestream last night, Adeel abruptly ends the stream after hearing loud noises and even makes a comment about a potential swatting. This morning, their WhatNot account was suspended. Photos posted on X by HORHEAD Sales, a known reseller in the online sneaker community, show an alleged raid taking place at the company’s warehouse where they livestream on WhatNot.
Sole Retriever viewed booking records for the LAPD and found that Adeel Shams was arrested on October 2, 2025 at 4:45 PM PT and was booked on felony charges around two hours later at 6:32 PM. The arresting agency was LAPD-BUNCO/FORGERY, which handles crimes involving fraud, financial crimes, and the sale of counterfeit items. He was released at midnight on October 3.
Some users online on Reddit forums and across X have alleged the items they received from CoolKicks on their WhatNot streams were not authentic, though again these are just claims from people online and that has not been proven.
Hours after this story broke, CoolsKicks made a statement via their Instagram which is below.
That’s all that we know at this point, but Shams’ booking record shows a court date of October 23, 2025, so potentially more will be revealed leading up to his appearance. We’ll keep you updated as soon as more information becomes available.
UPDATE: The LAPD have officially announced what Shams has been charged with. In a news release, the police department states that he was booked for "Receiving Stolen Property" and that they recovered $500,000 in stolen Nike goods. This includes over 2,100 pairs of sneakers and 150 cartons of clothing.
Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. When not writing for Sole Retriever, I enjoy watching films and discovering music. Follow me on Letterboxd @nickvlah For tips, reviews, or any shoes in a size 13, email nick@soleretriever.com
