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On March 7, 2025, PEOPLE MAGAZINE published an article about a former reality TV star and convicted felon named Ash Armand. The title of the published story was:
“A Reality TV Star ‘Lost His Mind’ and Beat His Friend to Death. What to Know About Ash Armand’s Case — and Where He Is Now Nearly 5 Years Later.”
More than two months after the article was published, rapper 50 Cent shared a screenshot of it on his official Instagram account.
“This sh*t is a movie, one of the sex workers caught a body @50centaction,” the post, dated May 19, 2025, was captioned.
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50 Cent likely referred to Armand's name being mentioned during the Diddy trial.
Ash Armand, whose real name is Akshaya Kubiak, was a star of the Showtime reality series Gigolos from 2013 to 2016. Later, he was sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and mayhem for the July 2020 death of his friend, business partner, personal trainer, and alleged client, Herleen Dulai, 29.
Notably, Armand was among several male escorts identified during the ongoing sex trafficking trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, alongside Jonathan Oddi, Jules, Jake, Craig, Brian, and Skylar, among others. Many of these individuals were part of the Vegas-based companion service, Cowboys4Angels, including Ash.
A male escort, stripper, and dancer named Daniel Phillip also testified against the Bad Boy Records founder on May 12, 2025.
All you need to know about Ash Armand
Ash Armand is a former male escort based in Las Vegas who appeared on the reality TV show, Gigolos, which aired from 2011 to 2016 for six seasons, during its third season. He was one of the five escorts featured on the series and was nicknamed the “zen master” of the group.
Four years after the show, Ash Armand was arrested for the fatal beating of Herleen Dulai in July 2020. At that time, he claimed that she attacked him after they took psychedelic mushrooms together (presumably to cope with the pain from her malignant brain tumor), after which he seemingly “blacked out.”
Later, Armand called the authorities to his house to inform them that Herleen was unconscious and that there had been a “struggle” and he “temporarily lost” his mind.
When the authorities arrived, the reality star was attempting to perform CPR on Dulai, claiming she had suffered a heart attack. However, law enforcement reported that she was already “deceased,” and her official cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma and strangulation.
Ash was taken into custody for murder, and Herleen’s death was ruled a homicide as per the Clark County coroner’s office in Vegas. At that time, he claimed to have acted in self-defense, stating during his December 2021 sentencing hearing:
“I have never hit a woman in my life, and I certainly never wanted to hurt Herleen.”
In September of that year, he pleaded guilty to felony charges of voluntary manslaughter and mayhem, reportedly to prevent the case from going to trial. He was subsequently sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison and has since remained at the Nevada Correctional Center.
In March 2025, a docuseries titled Sin City Gigolo: A Murder in Las Vegas was released by Paramount+ and focused on Ash Armand’s case. Although director Barbara Shearer interviewed former cast and crew members of the reality series Gigolos about their experiences with Armand, she was unable to interview the convicted felon and could only access recorded prison phone calls.
The three-episode Paramount+ docuseries described him as a sex worker. It also stated there was a “rush to judgment” in his case, a campaign funding website for his legal defense, and his mother described Ash as a “healer.”
Born and raised in Maine with two siblings, Ash Armand also spent a considerable amount of time in Japan. His Instagram bio indicated he was a sex and fitness educator and the father of a 17-year-old son at the time of his arrest.
While details regarding Ash Armand’s connection to Diddy remain undisclosed, he had been an employee of the escort agency Cowboys4Angels in Las Vegas since 2012. Sean Combs was a known client of the agency.
According to Refinery 29, Cowboys4Angels founder Garren James was responsible for Ash Armand’s role on Gigolos and his eventual rise to fame.
Armand is eligible for parole in 2028. His photo was shown during Sean Combs' trial, where he faces federal felony charges, including sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, racketeering conspiracy, and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Ash’s name and image emerged when the prosecution introduced a list of evidence concerning sex workers who participated in or aided Diddy’s freak-off parties, also known as drug and sex-based performances.
Combs’ former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, who dated him on and off between 2007 and 2018, helped in identifying some of the male escorts. She was present in the courtroom to provide testimony in the ongoing federal case.
