Brothers involved in $2.5M insurance scam sentenced for murder

Two brothers were convicted in a murder plot to eliminate the elder brother’s ex-boyfriend in an attempt to claim on his hefty policy

Insurance News

By Lyle Adriano

Two brothers were convicted last Friday in relation to the murder of the elder brother’s ex-boyfriend, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office had announced. According to authorities, the two perpetrated the crime in an attempt to collect on the ex-boyfriend’s $2.5 million insurance policy.

The brothers—Hovanes "John" Maskovian, 37, and Hachik "Kriss" Maskovian, 31—were found guilty by separate judges of first-degree murder and attempted kidnapping, reported The Los Angeles Times. Notably, special circumstances were also found of lying in wait, murder for financial gain and murder during an attempted kidnapping.

The victim, 33-year-old Joshua West of Glendale, was lured to a location in Sun Valley on April 24, 2013 under the pretext of acquiring a cellphone, prosecutors stated. There, he was beaten, run over by a car, and shot by the brothers. West’s body was dumped in the 10200 block of Penrose Street, Sun Valley.

According to West’s sister, her brother and Hovanes Maskovian had been dating for seven years. The couple broke up in December 2012 but continued living together in the same apartment in Glendale out of convenience, revealed West’s father.

The convicted two are set to be sentenced in August. Each of them faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Another suspect in the case, Nazaret "Nick" Bayamdzhyan, 22, is awaiting trial.


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