FBI Is Investigating Death of Colts Owner

Federal agents are now scrutinizing how longtime Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay spent his final months and who was treating him. According to a federal grand jury subpoena reviewed by the Washington Post, the FBI is seeking records tied to Irsay's death, his use of legal and illegal substances, and his dealings with Dr. Harry Haroutunian, a California addiction specialist who managed his care before he died in May at 65. The subpoena was issued by the US District Court for the Central District of California earlier this month. Agents have since traveled to Indianapolis and interviewed several people who knew Irsay in recent years, the Post reports, citing unnamed sources.

Irsay died at the Beverly Hills Hotel while under Haroutunian's supervision; the doctor, staying at the same hotel, signed a death certificate listing cardiac arrest stemming from pneumonia and heart problems. Police in Beverly Hills quickly closed their case without an autopsy. But a Post investigation in August reported that Irsay—who had publicly said he was sober—had relapsed and was receiving large quantities of opioid painkillers and ketamine from Haroutunian. Images of pill bottles reviewed by the paper showed more than 200 opioid pills prescribed in the days before Irsay suffered two overdoses in less than two weeks in December 2023.

Haroutunian, who has not commented on the new probe, previously told the Post he devoted 18 months to Irsay's care. "We did everything we could to make him as comfortable as possible," he said. The use of ketamine in patients with substance-use histories is disputed, and federal authorities in Southern California previously investigated its role in the 2023 death of actor Matthew Perry, a case that resulted in charges against five people, including two physicians.

Colts chief legal officer Dan Emerson says the team is aware of the FBI inquiry but has not been subpoenaed or contacted. "I do understand that there have been some subpoenas provided, but not to me, the Colts or any of our current employees," he tells the Post. Irsay, one of the NFL's most visible owners for decades and a Super Bowl champion in 2007, had long acknowledged his struggles with addiction. After a DWI charge in 2014, he launched a mental health campaign called "Kicking the Stigma," SI reports.