A California man was arrested Friday after allegedly using cryptocurrency to try to hire a hitman to kill his former girlfriend.
Beverly Hills resident Scott Berkett, 24, faces a murder-for-hire charge for reportedly requesting the hit and paying $13,000 in Bitcoin toward the plot before wiring $1,000 to an undercover FBI agent posing as a hitman, whom Berkett directed to make it “look like an accident,” according to a Justice Department news release.
Berkett and “Victim 1,” his former girlfriend, first corresponded online in 2020, after which she traveled to Los Angeles to meet him in October. The victim subsequently “tried on several occasions to break off the relationship,” the Justice Department said, citing an affidavit, though Berkett allegedly continued to contact her.
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Berkett then supposedly went to the dark web to look for a murder-for-hire service and contacted a group that advertised for it. The group, which law enforcement apparently considers to be a scam, told a media outlet about Berkett’s inquiry, and the outlet then provided the FBI with messages and payment information from Berkett regarding the plot.
The source provided to the FBI “transaction information from an unnamed source on the Dark Web that showed that Bitcoin payments were made with an understanding that an unknown individual would murder Victim 1,” the affidavit read, according to the Justice Department.
The transaction information purportedly showed that $13,000 were paid between April 5 and May 5.
Berkett allegedly ordered the hit on April 28, telling the dark web group that he would “like it to look like an accident, but robbery gone wrong may work better. So long as she is dead.”
“I’d also like for her phone to be retrieved and destroyed irreparably in the process,” he reportedly added.
An FBI agent posing as a hitman corresponded with Berkett on Wednesday, sending a photo of Victim 1 to confirm her identity. Berkett then wired $1,000 to the “hitman” Thursday afternoon.
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Berkett’s initial court appearance is Tuesday, and he could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
