BH Realtor Pleads No Contest To Celebrity Home Burglaries

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — A Beverly Hills realtor has pleaded no contest to a series of burglaries of the homes of the rich and famous, including singers Usher and Adam Lambert and "Real Housewives" star Dorit Kemsley.

Benjamin Eitan Ackerman's attorney in court on Monday said his client "has accepted responsibility for what he did" and is "contesting and proceeding to trial on the charges that he is innocent of," referring to the three remaining burglary charges against the 37-year-old defendant.

Ackerman told Superior Court Judge Mark S. Arnold that he understood the charges to which he pleaded could carry a maximum of about 45 years behind bars and that he wanted to move forward with his plea to 11 counts of residential burglary, 28 counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, along with his admission of a white-collar crime enhancement.

The burglary charges include break-ins in 2017-18, including ones at Lambert's, Usher's and Kemsley's. He is awaiting trail on three other burglary counts, including one stemming from a break-in at

The burglary charges included break-ins at the home of Lambert on Dec. 1, 2017, and again a day later, a burglary at Usher's home on March 20, 2018 and a June 28, 2018, burglary at the home of reality TV personalities Paul and Dorit Kemsley.

He is awaiting trial on three other burglary counts, including one stemming from a 2017 break-in at former NFL player Shaun Phillips' home. He remains free on bond and is being subject to electronic monitoring while he's awaiting trial.

Jason Emil Yaselli, who was charged along with Ackerman in 2019, pleaded guilty at an earlier court date to one count of residential burglary and two counts of money laundering and admitted a white-collar crime enhancement. Yaselli, 36, is awaiting sentencing, but it was not immediately clear what sentence he could face.

The Los Angeles Police department said that Ackerman committed robberies in the Hollywood Hills, Encino, Tarzana and Sherman Oaks by either posing a buyer interested in the property or as a broker wanting to show the property during open houses, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"Yaselli allegedly encouraged Ackerman to steal luxury items from 14 homes, sell them and use the proceeds to make payments on Yaselli’s credit card," reads a release from the LA County District Attorney's Office.

Police said they recovered 2,000 high-end items worth millions in Ackerman's home and in a storage unit, the Times reported.

City News Service contributed to this report.