Prosecution claims he lies and defrauds people

BURLINGTON – Serhat D. Gumrukcu is a liar and a fraudster.

That was the picture painted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as the 42-year-old Los Angeles scientist tried to deflect criminal charges Wednesday in his murder for hire trial in federal court in Vermont.

The defense had used multiple character witnesses earlier in the week to try to show Gumrukcu was a warm, kind, peaceful and compassionate person. He was not the type to be involved in a hit, they maintained.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Van de Graaf used some of that earlier testimony, dozens of exhibits and Gumrukcu’s own words to show a different picture.

At one point Gumrukcu testified he had “told so many lies I can’t remember what was true.”

He later told the jury he had trouble remembering. He said he had “played so many roles” and later admitted “details are hazy.”

Under further questioning from Van de Graaf, Gumrukcu admitted that he had lied an estimated 100 times to one of his best friends, Gregory Gac, who was involved in the investment fraud case.

Gumrukcu had acknowledged earlier in the trial that he had lied about earning medical degrees and a PhD doctorate. He also admitted he had used fake email accounts, including one for his older brother, to help carry out some of his fraudulent activities.

Gumrukcu, who was born in Turkey, was the next to last defense witness in the trial, which is now in its fifth week. The defense rested its case after calling one last character witness.

The prosecution had considered recalling Gumrukcu’s close friend and co-conspirator, Berk Eratay, 37, of Las Vegas, Nev., as a rebuttal witness. After a short break Van de Graaf announced the prosecution was done.

With the jury out of the courtroom, co-defense lawyer Ethan Balogh of San Francisco, made another pro-forma motion to have the case dismissed. Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss rejected the request again.

Reiss agreed that closing arguments would begin at 10 a.m. Thursday.

After both sides have their chance to recap the evidence to the 10 women and five men on the jury, Reiss will explain the relevant laws and legal principles for them to follow. The jury will deliberate on the three-count murder for hire indictment until a decision is reached.

The international criminal case has generated considerable media interest, including at least three movie or documentary producers. Two sat throughout the entire trial and one attended the first and last weeks of the trial.

Authorities have said Gumrukcu was the mastermind behind ordering the cross-country hit of Gregory Davis, 49, of Danville in January 2018.

Gumrukcu was afraid that Davis, a married father of six children, was going to blow the whistle on a fraudulent international oil investment plan.

Gumrukcu conspired with his Eratay, Aaron Ethridge, 44, of Henderson, Nev. and Jerry Banks, 37, of Garland, Col., the eventual hitman, authorities said.

Banks, Eratay and Ethridge, who have all testified, have pleaded guilty to felony charges and are awaiting sentencings.

Banks testified he impersonated a deputy U.S. marshal and abducted Davis from his Hawkins Road home about 8:45 p.m. on Saturday Jan. 6, 2018 by claiming there was a federal arrest warrant for the Vermonter.

Banks testified he had three firearms, including a rifle, and that he had bought police gear, including emergency flashing lights for his vehicle, and U.S. Marshals Service gear, patches, handcuffs and other needed items.

He drove with a handcuffed Davis in the back seat to nearby Barnet and turned into a pull-off area. Testimony showed he took Davis out of the car, after requests to loosen the handcuffs, and shot him at least 8 times from behind. Evidence shows 14 casing from a .22-caliber firearm were recovered by state police.

Banks said he left Davis near a snowbank and tried to cover him with snow. The body was spotted the following afternoon while Banks continued to drive back to the west coast.

Gumrukcu has pleaded not guilty a three-count federal indictment, including intentionally conspiring between May 2017 and February 2018 with several people, including Banks, Eratay and Ethridge to have Davis killed.

Gumrukcu also has denied wire fraud, and a conspiracy count for causing Banks to travel across state lines between Jan. 1, 2018 and Jan. 6, 2018 to carry out the homicide for pay.

Van de Graaf, a veteran prosecutor, threaded together a masterful cross-examination. He got some help in his presentation from two colleagues in his office.

As Van de Graaf began to call out exhibits that he planned to impeach Gumrukcu with, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Stendig walked over to the defense table with copies of the exhibits to make sure they could follow along.

Meanwhile Erin Thompson-Moran, one of two office paralegals assisting the prosecution, was ready to flash the exhibits on the multiple television screens in the jury box and throughout the fifth-floor courtroom.

Gumrukcu admitted he had helped send along four fake $50,000 wire confirmations.

He admitted he “had a ghostwriter” to help with some of the false claims he had made about himself, including bogus college degrees.

Gumrukcu did testify that his older brother was never involved in any fraudulent deals, but his brother’s counterfeit emails accounts were used to help facilitate some claims and communications.

Eratay had worked as an assistant for Serhat Gumrukcu from January 2015 to January 2018 and it was part of his job to provide false information to Davis about business dealings, court records show.

Eratay sent and received emails at Gumrukcu’s direction and used some of his Google accounts to falsely pose as Gumrukcu, they said.

Vermont State Police, which took the lead on the homicide case, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies were eventually able to piece together the complex case over the subsequent years and make four arrests in 2022.

Melissa Davis, the widow, told Vermont State Police the night the body was found that her husband had been in an investment feud with Gumrukcu.

Melissa Davis, who has sat through the trial, had been married to the victim for 14 years. They had six children when he was abducted and killed, and the couple had just told their children on that day that she was pregnant with a seventh child.