A Beverly Hills real estate agent and his accomplish stand accused of burglarizing the homes of Usher, Jason Derulo, Adam Lambert, reality stars former athletes and more celebrity homes by using open house events to steal their belongings, the Los Angeles County District Attorney announced Thursday (Aug. 22).
Jason Yaselli, 32, and Benjamin Ankerman, 33, have been locked up for about a week. The duo faces 32 counts of money laundering, 12 counts of first-degree residential burglary, two counts of identity theft, double counts of residential burglary with a person present, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. They are also charged with obtaining more than $500,000 through fraud and embezzlement.
Ackerman, who was arrested on Aug. 15, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment on Aug. 19. His bail has been set at $1.2 million, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 3. Yaselli, a Keller Williams Realty employee who was arrested on Aug. 16, was arraigned on Aug. 23. The prosecutor recommended a $1.73 million bail for Yaselli.
According to the criminal complaint, Yaselli was the mastermind behind the burglaries which took place between Dec. 2016 and Aug. 2018. He allegedly encouraged Ankerman to “steal luxury items from 14 homes, sell them and use the proceeds to make payments on Yaselli’s credit card.”
The case is still being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department. If convicted, Yaselli and Ankerman face a maximum of 31 years in prison.
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