What did Scott Quinn Berkett do? Beverly Hills man pleads guilty to hiring hitman for killing a woman he met online

On Monday, June 13, Beverly Hills resident Scott Quinn Berkett pled guilty to a federal charge on suspicion of attempting to hire a hitman to kill a lady he briefly dated who was adamant about ending their relationship.

Reportedly, Scott Quinn Berkett, 25, was detained without incident in May 2021 after being charged in a federal criminal complaint alleging that he paid thousands of dollars in bitcoin to plan the murder and subsequently wired $1,000 to the alleged hitman, who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent.

A press release from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), shared on Monday, said,

"Scott Quinn Berkett appeared in federal court on Monday and pled guilty to one count of using interstate facilities to commit murder-for-hire."

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Scott Quinn Berkett paid $13,000 in bitcoin for the assassination of his ex-girlfriend

According to the Department of Justice, Scott Quinn Berkett met the victim online in 2020 and the two had a brief connection. The victim came out to Los Angeles in late October 2020 to meet him, but she turned him down due to his "s*xually aggressive" behaviour. She attempted to end the relationship for several months, but Berkett continued to contact her.

A family member of the victim discovered that Scott Quinn Berkett was still harassing her in April 2021 and attempted to contact the defendant's father to inform him of the continuous communication from Berkett, but the accused allegedly answered using his father's phone. According to the DOJ press release,

“Berkett appears to have responded saying 'consider this matter closed.'”

Berkett went on the dark web shortly after the phone call, looking for someone to kill the victim and arranging it as an accident or a "robbery gone wrong." He then confessed that he hired and paid $13,000 in bitcoin for the assassination of his ex-girlfriend.

Berkett admitted in court that he sent explicit instructions for the woman's murder.

According to the DOJ press release, he said,

"I would like to look an accident, but robbery gone wrong may work better. So long as she is dead. I'd like to ask for her phone to be retrieved and destroyed irreparabely in the process."

As it turned out, the person or group Berkett had hired to kill the victim instead handed their correspondence to a local news organisation.

The FBI was subsequently contacted by an anonymous media outlet, which gave evidence of Berkett's attempt to have the victim killed as well as documentation of the money.

In May 2021, Berkett received a call from an undercover cop pretending to be the hired killer. Berkett was shown photos of the victim, who acknowledged that she was the intended target of the hit.

Berkett then demanded proof of her murder, including an image of her distinctive tattoo. Later, he made the final payment of $1,000 for her death through wire transfer.

The affidavit said,

"An undercover FBI agent, posing as a hitman, made contact with Berkett on Wednesday. Berkett then made the additional payment of $1,000 late Thursday afternoon."

Scott Quinn Berkett was apprehended and charged later that month. According to the Department of Justice, he now faces a statutory maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison. Berkett is scheduled to be sentenced on September 12.