Ash Armand, known for his stint on the reality TV show Gigolos, gained attention largely due to his unconventional relationships. However, it was a tragic incident involving an aspiring model that eventually led to his imprisonment.
Armand, whose real name is Akshaya Kubiak, was found guilty in 2021 of voluntary manslaughter and mayhem following the fatal beating of 29-year-old Herleen Dulai. The details of the case were reported by The Las Vegas Review Journal.
The legal proceedings brought Armand back into public discourse, with Dulai’s grieving family sharing the profound impact of her loss during his sentencing.
Curious about the current status of this former reality star?
Here’s a comprehensive look at the unsettling case and the latest on Armand’s situation.
What Happened to Herleen Dulai?
On the morning of July 16, 2020, Armand—who was featured on Showtime reality show about American gigolos from 2012 to 2016—claimed the two friends had been doing mushrooms when he “blacked out,” the paper reported. He told authorities he later regained consciousness to find Dulai laying dead beside him.
“It is going to sound insane because it is insane,” Armand told a 911 dispatcher from his Las Vegas condo in a recording obtained by Refinery29. “We took mushrooms together, said our prayers together, put on Avatar together.”
He told the dispatcher he was “no longer in this reality,” then realized Dulai was unconscious laying next to him.
“There was a struggle,” he told the dispatcher, per the outlet. “I temporarily lost my mind.”
Armand claimed Dulai had suffered a heart attack.
How Did Herleen Dulai Die?
When police arrived a few minutes later, Dulai was “obviously deceased,” noted an arrest report obtained by The Las Vegas Review Journal.
It was also clear that she hadn’t had a heart attack. Clark County Fire Captain Darren Lutes would describe her face as being “black and blue and swollen,” in court documents obtained by Refinery29, and her ear having a giant bruise. Her body was also covered in candle wax.
Prosecutor Giancarlo Pesci later told the court, per The Las Vegas Review Journal, that Dulai also had defensive wounds to her forearms and a chipped tooth that was recovered from her stomach.
When Lutes asked Armand how she got the injuries, Armand allegedly replied, “She attacked me, and I attacked her,” per the court records, then added “When the police get here, I’ll surrender.”
The Clark County Coroner’s Office determined that the 29-year-old died of blunt force trauma and strangulation in what was deemed a homicide.
What Happened to Ash Armand?
In September of 2021, he pleaded guilty to felony counts of voluntary manslaughter and mayhem. Three months later, he was sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison, according to The Las Vegas Review.
His defense attorney Josh Tomsheck had asked for a lesser sentence, arguing that his client had no prior criminal record and noted Armand had spared her family from having to relive the details in court.
Armand told the court, according to the outlet, that Dulai attacked him and he “blacked out,” leaving him with no memory of the incident.
“I have never hit a woman in my life,” he insisted, per the newspaper, “and I certainly never wanted to hurt Herleen.”
Yet, prosecutors highlighted the violent nature of the attack.
Dulai’s brother Parambir Dulai expressed the toll her death had taken on the family.
“She wasn’t simply taken from us,” he said, per the The Las Vegas Review Journal, “she was brutally beaten to death.”
Ash Armand’s Alleged Tie to Sean Diddy Comb’s “Freak Offs” Revealed
Years later, Armand’s nontraditional background and the unsettling details of Dulai’s death were explored in the Paramount+ docuseries Sin City Gigolo.
“It was a very unconventional upbringing. There is no question,” director Barbara Shearer told TV Insider in 2025 of his past. “Very open sexually, which is unconventional in terms of sexuality. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. I don’t want that to be misconstrued. I just mean very unconventional upbringing. Very unconventional household, which I’m surmising why it wasn’t a big leap to go into being a sex worker.”
Several months after the docuseries was released in March, Armand’s name was once again in the spotlight after People confirmed that he had allegedly been a sex worker in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ notorious “freak offs.”
“Freak-offs occurred regularly, sometimes lasting multiple days, and often involved multiple commercial sex workers,” federal prosecutors explained in indictment in Combs’ case previously obtained by Oxygen. “During freak-offs, Combs distributed a variety of controlled substances to victims, in part keeping the victims obedient and compliant. Sometimes unbeknownst to the victims, Combs kept videos he filmed of victims engaging in sex acts with commercial sex workers. After freak-offs, Combs and the victims typically received IV fluids to recover from the physical exertion and drug use.”
Where is Ash Armand Today?
Today, Armand continues to serve out his sentence at the Southern Desert Correctional Center, according to jail records reviewed by Oxygen.