Nearly two years after Violet Evelyn Alberts was found dead, detectives say they uncovered an intricate fraud scheme that culminated in a murder-for-hire plot against the 96-year-old woman, who was found dead in her Montecito home.
Santa Barbara County sheriff's detectives had previously arrested Pauline Macareno, 48, in June 2022 on suspicion of elder abuse and fraud. But on Thursday, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said the investigation had revealed a “particularly heinous murder case.”
Macareno, posing as a real estate agent, used forged documents and fraudulent entities to gain control of Alberts' money and home in Montecito, Brown said. But once the fraud scheme was put into motion, Brown said, Macareno made a discouraging decision.
“In Pauline Macareno's eyes, Ms. Alberts was living too long,” Brown said. “The assumption was that [Alberts] would die quickly, and then [Macareno] “I would have obtained this home through fraudulent means.”
On Thursday, Brown said the 22-month investigation into the plot led detectives to the arrest of three additional suspects believed to have played a role in the deadly plot.
At 96, Alberts continued to lead an active life in her Montecito community, where Brown said neighbors knew her for her warm and friendly demeanor.
But the widow had fallen into financial trouble, depleting her savings and needing a way to cover day-to-day expenses. At some point, Brown said, he came into contact with Macareno, who was supposed to be working on a reverse mortgage deal for Alberts, but instead organized a scheme to fraudulently gain control of his assets and home. he.
On May 27, 2022, officers found Alberts in her bed, dead from asphyxiation, he said. A window near the back door of the house was shattered.
Initially, detectives found few if any clues in what Brown called a bewildering “whodunit,” but investigators soon tracked a “tangled web of financial exploitation” that led detectives to Macareno and three men.
Officers arrested Harry Basmadjian, 58, of Van Nuys, Henry Rostomyan, 33, of Tujunga, and Ricardo MartinDelCampo, 41, in the alleged murder-for-hire plot.
Brown did not say how Macareno met or came into contact with the three men, but said the investigation revealed premeditation and planning for Alberts' murder.
Rostomyan and MartinDelCampo traveled to Montecito in an effort to inspect Alberts' home, Brown said.
Rostomyan and MartinDelCampo are being held in Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of murder and conspiracy to murder, according to jail records. Basmadjian was in federal custody at the time of his arrest on an unrelated charge.
Basmadjian, before being arrested in this case, suffered a medical emergency in federal custody and became “incapacitated,” Brown said.
Officials are still reviewing the case and additional charges may be filed against Macareno, Brown said.
