A federal jury found Arthur Aslanian, a real estate developer from La Cañada Flintridge, guilty of plotting two murders for hire as well as arson in a North Hollywood fire.
Aslanian conspired with his employee to kill his former lawyer and a litigant who defeated him in court. Additionally, he was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit arson, one count of attempted arson, and one count of arson of a building used in interstate commerce.
According to a Justice Department release, Aslanian conspired with Sesar Rivera, Aslanian’s employee, to hire a hitman to murder two people – identified in court documents as “M.Y.” and “S.E.” M.Y. was a lawyer who represented Aslanian in a bankruptcy proceeding in which Aslanian had prevailed but then refused to pay over $261,000 in legal fees and expenses to M.Y.’s law firm. In April 2022, M.Y. sent a demand letter to Aslanian requesting to mediate the dispute and stating he was prepared to sue Aslanian if the mediation failed.
S.E. was a litigant who defeated Aslanian in court after Aslanian tried to take possession of the Brentwood home in which S.E.’s parents lived.
In a separate incident, Aslanian, through Rivera, paid an individual a few hundred dollars for successfully setting fire to a vacant unit at a rental property in North Hollywood own by Aslanian so the remaining tenants would be forced to leave the property.
Aslanian will be sentenced on Oct. 2, facing a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each murder-for-hire-related count and up to 20 years in federal prison for each arson-related count, and a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison for each arson count.