A Las Vegas man suspected of murdering his 30-year-old roommate has revealed that the victim was a scam artist who was allegedly running Ponzi schemes.
Gino Anthony Julian, 30, was arrested last year for allegedly murdering Aaron Chavez.
He was taken into custody by San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in August 2023 after they found him with a burned and partially buried body in the middle of the desert.
After being arrested, Julian told detectives that he was working for unknown individuals in Miami, who had reportedly sent him duffle bags to deliver to various locations and was paid $5,000 to $10,000 per delivery, according to police documents.
On August 10, he received an ominous note that read ‘take care of it.’
Gino Anthony Julian, 30, was arrested last year for allegedly murdering Aaron Chavez
Julian revealed to police that Chavez (pictured) had a earned lot of money that he gained through Ponzi schemes
Julian told officials that he found a Chavez’s dead body wrapped in the backseat of his Mercedes and believed a message he received to ‘take care of it’ was meant for him to dispose of it
Julian further claims that many people were mad at Chavez due to his allegedly fraudulent activities, according to grand jury transcripts
Two days later, he told officials that he found a Chavez’s dead body wrapped in the backseat of his Mercedes and believed the message was meant for him to dispose of it.
While Julian awaits a jury trial, which is set in May, he has revealed to police that the victim had a earned lot of money that he gained through Ponzi schemes.
He further claims that many people were mad at him due to his allegedly fraudulent activities, according to grand jury transcripts.
A Ponzi scheme is described as an investment fraud where people pay existing investors with funds collected from new investors.
But Julian’s claims might just be true as two unidentified California men told 8NewsNow that they had been scammed by Chavez.
The two men told the channel that they had given Chavez $25,000 to invest in protein cookies.
Detectives have also found videos on Julian’s phone that showed the two men together before Chavez died
In one clip, Julian can be seen physically assaulting Chavez (pictured) while another showed the suspect pouring gasoline on Chavez’s body which was wrapped in blankets
When they reached out to ask how their investments were doing, the now-dead victim would make excuses.
But once they found Chavez’s social media accounts and saw his extravagant lifestyle, they realized they had been scammed out of their money.
‘I was texting our group chat saying he’s gonna fake his death,’ one of the investors told the channel.
Evidence related to his death has also revealed that Chavez had gotten into arguments with the accused and another man, Stefan Jakubov.
Chavez had told Julian in one of their exchanges: ‘If I’m touched you will be sued,’ to which the suspect replied: ‘Dead men can’t sue.’
In a similar tone, Jakubov had also allegedly texted ‘Break his face’ and ‘Delete our convos’ to Julian, according to police.
Julian had then written back: ‘Where should I put on the show?’ and ‘Is there bleach or chlorine?’
Detectives have also found videos on Julian’s phone that showed the two men together before Chavez died.
In one clip, Julian can be seen physically assaulting Chavez while another showed the suspect pouring gasoline on Chavez’s body which was wrapped in blankets.
There was also a text on Julian’s phone to an unknown person that read: ‘We shouldn’t have people over for a while because we need to clean the apartment’, according to documents.
The suspect remains in custody in the Clark County Detention Center in downtown Las Vegas.