Beverly Hills

 

PHOTO: Singers Usher and Adam Lambert are named as victims in the complaint against a real estate agent.

(CNN)A Beverly Hills real estate agent and another man are accused of burglarizing celebrities’ homes in Southern California, sometimes during open-house viewings, prosecutors say.

Real estate agent Jason Emil Yaselli and Benjamin Eitan Ackerman have been charged with several crimes, and are accused of taking more than than $500,000 through fraud and embezzlement, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said.
Their alleged victims include musicians Usher and Adam Lambert, as well as “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” stars Paul and Dorit Kemsley and former NFL player Shaun Phillips, prosecutors said.
Ackerman, of Beverly Hills, was arrested August 16, and Yaselli was arrested Wednesday.
From December 2016 to August 2018, prosecutors allege, Yaselli encouraged Ackerman to steal luxury items from 14 homes and then sell them to make payments on Yaselli’s credit card.
In many cases, the men identified the targets or committed the burglaries during open houses, prosecutors allege. The thefts happened in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Brentwood and Hollywood Hills.
READ MORE VIA CNN