Crime & Safety
Suspect Named in 2008 Santa Monica Murder
Financial adviser Daniel Becerril II is suspected of bilking Alexander Merman of almost $500,000.
Updated at 1:40 p.m.
An allegedly corrupt financial adviser from Huntington Beach is suspected in the 2008 stabbing death of a Russian-born teacher who had grown suspicious of investments being made on his behalf, authorities said Friday.
Daniel Becerril II, who was arrested Thursday following a four-year investigation, allegedly owed Alexander Merman a quarter of a million dollars, and had stolen an additional $300,000 from Merman's investment account, which he deposited into a personal account and one belonging to his company, AP Financial Group.
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"This was a murder for financial gain," said Santa Monica Police Chief Timothy Jackman at a press conference Friday morning on the eve of his retirement.
Merman's body was discovered March 19, 2008, in his Montana Avenue apartment.
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Becerril, 35, is being held in Santa Monica Jail without bail on suspicion of the murder and six counts of grand theft and multiple counts of forgery and money laundering related to about $700,000 in thefts.
Police allege that Becerril, along with his wife, Sandra, 33, led "a very broad and deep" fraud ring. She is being held in lieu of $830,000 bail on suspicion of multiple counts of forgery and grand theft.
"We suspect it's far deeper than what we know now... This is just the tip of the iceberg," Jackman said.
While investigating the theft of Merman's money, detectives reportedly found evidence of an alleged conspiracy involving other AP Financial employees. In an unrelated case, a woman's home was sold to a third party—without her knowledge—who later defaulted on the loan. She was evicted and all of the proceeds from the sale went to Becerril and his associates, police said.
They expect to make additional arrests as soon as Friday and in the coming days.
Merman, 35, was an elementary school teacher at the Los Angeles Unified School District, a Navy veteran and an artist.
His teary-eyed mother, Sophia, remembered him Friday as a public servant and a gentleman.
Merman’s body was discovered the same week that aspiring actress Julia Redding was also found murdered in her Santa Monica apartment. The discoveries were mere days and a few miles apart.
Though the cases are unrelated, Jackman said both investigations have uncovered extensive evidence of fraud.
In Redding's case, the physician who prosecutors believe might have commissioned her death was reportedly involved in scamming workers compensation insurance companies of tens of millions of dollars, said police Sgt. Richard Lewis.
Both investigations are continuing.
“We have enough to make arrests in this case, now the real work will begin on uncovering how the deep the fraud goes,” Jackman said of the Merman case.
Officials are asking any one who dealt with Becerril or AP Financial to contact detective HeeSeok Ahan at (310) 458-8941 or WeTip at (800) 78-CRIME.
"I would encourage anyone one who knows anything or who has been victimized to please step forward, obviously this crime goes further than the murder," said Mayor Richard Bloom.
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