A Beverly Hills man was sentenced Monday to 5 years in jail for soliciting the homicide of a girl who didn’t wish to date him.
Scott Quinn Berkett, a 25-year-old IT engineer, had confronted a most sentence of 10 years after pleading responsible to make use of of interstate amenities to commit murder-for-hire.
He was arrested in Might 2021 after the purported employed killers he contacted on the “darkish net” accepted $13,000 in Bitcoin from him after which turned him over to legislation enforcement.
The arrest affidavit included an change through which a person believed to be Berkett instructed the darkish net group: “I’d prefer it to seem like an accident, however theft gone unsuitable may fit higher. As long as she is useless.”
He requested a photograph of the physique, together with a tattoo on the lady’s arm, as proof that she had been killed.
His supposed goal, an Idaho girl, was by no means harmed.
The 2 had met on-line in summer season 2020 when each have been directors for a Fb web site associated to the anime collection “RWBY,” the arrest affidavit said. She got here to Los Angeles to satisfy Berkett in October 2020; he was dwelling in his dad and mom’ Beverly Hills residence, so she stayed in a resort for 3 days.
When she returned residence, she tried to finish the connection; she later instructed investigators she was delay by his sexually aggressive conduct. However for six months, Berkett refused to simply accept the break-up and continued to contact her on a number of social media platforms.
Lastly, in April 2021, a relative of the lady’s texted Berkett’s father to say police could be referred to as if the son didn’t drop the matter.
A texted response purportedly from the youthful Berkett mentioned, “Contemplate this matter closed.”
Two days later he allegedly reached out to a bunch that marketed homicide for rent on the darkish net, a community of encrypted web websites dealing in illicit items and providers.
The murder-for-hire operation was apparently a rip-off, the FBI mentioned, and details about the request was relayed to an investigative media group that in flip alerted legislation enforcement.
On Might 19, 2021, an FBI agent pretending to be the employed killer contacted Berkett on WhatsApp after which in a cellphone name, they usually mentioned the “contract.”
On directions from the agent, Berkett went to a Ceremony-Assist close to his dad and mom’ residence and despatched $1,000 from a Western Union kiosk as “a ultimate fee.” In the course of the transaction, he was below surveillance by the FBI. He was arrested the next day.
Prosecutors say that whereas in jail, he tried to solicit assist from darkish net contacts in making it appear as if he had been framed.
In June of this 12 months, he pleaded responsible to at least one depend of use of interstate amenities to commit murder-for-hire. He has been in federal custody since his arrest.