A suspect has been arrested in connection with a series of burglaries at the Hollywood homes of celebrities including musicians Usher, Adam Lambert and Jason Derulo.
Benjamin Eitan Ackerman is alleged to have turned up at the mansions of the stars pretending to be a potential buyer or real estate agent during open houses.
The burglaries, which involved the theft of goods worth several million dollars, took place some time after.
Police who raided the Los Angeles home of the suspect seized more than 2,000 items allegedly stolen over the past two years.
Reality star Dorit Kemsley from The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills and actress Rebecca Hutton were also among 13 victims identified so far, police said.
Detective Jared Timmons of the Los Angeles Police Department said that Ackerman would show up “dressed to the nines”, and described the criminal operation as “sophisticated”.
Stolen items included works of art, high-end jewellery, fine wines, designer purses, clothing and shoes. Ackerman became a suspect after he allegedly signed into several open houses using his middle name and made enquiries about rare art works.
Many of the homes Ackerman was said to have visited later had their surveillance cameras tampered with or destroyed as burglaries were carried out, according to police.
“Sometimes they were just ripped out and other times the cameras would simply go black until several hours after the burglary occurred,” Detective Timmons said.
Of the suspect, he added: “When he showed up he was dressed to the nines. He acted the part. He was very slick.” He said nobody challenged him or sought to verify who he was.
Detective Timmons said Derulo’s $3 million (£2.4 million) castle-style home in the Tarzana district was ransacked in September 2017, with the burglar getting away with $400,000 in cash and jewellery.
In March last year, Usher had $800,000 worth of valuables stolen from his $4.2 million mansion overlooking the Sunset Strip, which was on the market at the time. Six watches, a necklace and $20,000 in cash were also taken.
Detectives were still trying to determine how the burglaries were carried out and if more than one person was involved.
Ackerman was taken into custody in September last year but his arrest had not been made public until now. He is free on $1 million bail.
