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Sherman Oaks Man Gets 18 Years Prison for Fraud, Hiring Hitmen
Photo by CarbonNYC via Flickr
A 28-year-old Sherman Oaks man today was sentenced to 18 years in prison after hiring a hitman to kill a witness involved in a different case against him. “You’re your own worst enemy," said United States District Judge Percy Anderson. In 2008, an Immigration Customs Enforcement informant provided information about Pavel Valkovich's involvement in a bank fraud scheme, which led to his arrest, according to the United States Attorney's Office. Once arraigned, attorneys said he then tried to hire a hitman to kill the informant for $10,000 in a drive by shooting. Authorities caught wind of that plan and arrested Valkovich again on those charges. Once in jail, he tried to hire yet another hitman to kill both the informant and previous hitman. That backfired, too.
Valkovich was sentenced 37 months for the bank fraud scheme and 180 months for soliciting the murder of the informants.
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