Usher and Adam Lambert among celebrities ‘burgled in $500,000 scam’ in LA
Written by News on 24/08/2019
Stars including singers Usher and Adam Lambert were targeted in a burglary scam in Los Angeles, according to prosecutors in the US.
Open house events were used to target celebrities’ homes and other residences between 2016 and 2018, the LA County district attorney’s office said.
Other victims included reality TV personalities Paul and Dorit Kemsley, and former American football player Shaun Phillips.
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Two men, including a Beverly Hills real estate agent, have been arrested in connection with the crimes, accused of stealing more than $500,000 (£409,000) through fraud and embezzlement.
Realtor Jason Emil Yaselli, 32, and 33-year-old Benjamin Ackerman, also of Beverly Hills, face several charges, including multiple counts of money laundering, residential burglary and identity theft, prosecutors said.
In many instances, the pair allegedly identified the targets or committed the burglaries during open houses in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Brentwood and the Hollywood Hills, according to deputy district attorney Stephen Morgan, of the white collar crime division.
Ackerman has pleaded not guilty to the allegations, with bail set at $1.2m (£982,000), the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
Yaselli is due to appear in court on Friday.
The case remains under investigation by the LAPD.
(c) Sky News 2019: Usher and Adam Lambert among celebrities ‘burgled in $500,000 scam’ in LA
