Hired gun killed Danville man after multi-million dollar oil deal went sour

By Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First  

A version of this news story appeared this week in the Caledonian-Record

The scheduled fall trial for a cross-country murder for hire case that ended with a Northeast Kingdom man gunned down in January 2018 has been postponed.

Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss agreed last week to the delay after one of the primary defense lawyers, Ethan A. Balogh of San Francisco, said in court that he was diagnosed recently with cancer.

Balogh is co-counsel for Serhat D. Gumrukcu, 41, of Los Angeles, who was due to go on trial in U.S. District Court in Burlington starting Sept. 24 with jury draw.  The trial was scheduled to run for up to 5 weeks.

Gumrukcu is the man police say ordered the hit of Gregory Davis, 49, of Danville, who was going to blow the whistle on a multimillion-dollar fraud involving international investment in an oil deal. 

The federal authorities maintain Jerry Banks, 37, of Fort Garland, Col., posing as a deputy federal marshal, kidnapped Davis from his home at 884 Hawkins Road in Danville about 8:45 p.m. Jan. 6, 2018 and killed him that night in Barnet, about 15 miles away.

Vermont State Police said the handcuffed Davis was found the following afternoon in a pull-off area on Peacham Road in Barnet. Davis died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head and torso.

Gumrukcu is named in three of the four counts outlined in the latest federal indictment filed in the case.

However, Reiss recently ordered the dismissal of a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud dismissed.  It came after hearing arguments and reading legal filings.

She left the door open for the government to go back to the federal grand jury and amend the charge.

Gumrukcu is still facing two racketeering charges for murder, according to the indictment.

Gumrukcu has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with Berk Eratay, 38, of Las Vegas, one of the chief organizers, and Banks, the actual trigger man, between May 2017 and February 2018.

Gumrukcu also has denied a second felony charge that he and Eratay worked together to get Banks to travel across the country in early January 2018 with the intent to commit the homicide.

Balogh said he will be meeting with his oncologist in late August and have a better idea about a treatment plan.

Reiss and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Van de Graaf expressed their sincere sympathy for Balogh.

Reis said it was important that Balogh focus on his wellbeing.

Reiss questioned whether the case could go forward with Burlington lawyer Lisa Shelkrot, who is local counsel in the case, working with the other primary lead defense lawyer Susan K. Marcus of New York City.  Reiss said Shelkrot is a top lawyer and tried cases and could probably step in quickly.

“I’m his counsel of choice,” Balogh said about the defendant.  

Reiss also noted she also has to have legal concerns for Gumrukcu, who has been behind bars since May 2022.  She said he has a right to having his day in court.

Gumrukcu said during the hearing that he was satisfied with another delay in his trial even if it means he stays in prison waiting for his day in court.

Gumrukcu is detained at the Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland.  He appeared by video.

Eratay, Banks and Aron Ethridge, 42, of Henderson, Nev. have all pleaded guilty for their involvement in the case. 

Ethridge folded early in the case — more than two years ago –  and has been helping the prosecution.

Reiss said she wanted the defense to come up with a “Plan B” on how to proceed if Balogh suddenly is unable to follow through on the case.

Reiss also agreed to conduct a hearing Sept. 27 to get an update in the case.

Davis was a father of six children and, his wife of 14 years, Melissa, was pregnant, authorities said.

The family had been in Vermont about 3 years, and he worked in Barre at Safety-Kleen, a national environmental consulting firm. 

A company cellphone was found inside his jacket at the scene.  The couple had home schooled their children neighbors reported at the time.  The family attended the Concord Community Church on Main Street.

In 2017 Davis was threatening Gumrukcu and his older brother Murat, about going to the FBI with evidence the two Turkish brothers “were defrauding him in a multimillion-dollar oil deal,” court records maintain.

The records show the Gumrukcus had entered into the oil deal with Davis in early 2015.

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, it said.

Gumrukcu asked Eratay before the summer of 2017 to help find a hitman, the plea agreement said. Gumrukcu wired about $300,000 to two bank accounts controlled by Eratay between June 2017 and September 2017, court records note.

Eratay made a series of withdrawals of $9,000 or less to help fund the plan and to avoid any suspicion by the banks, records show.  

The defense and prosecution have said there is a considerable amount of evidence and information from the elaborate investigation.  They noted there are an estimated 55 search warrants in the case, many of them approved by now-retired Magistrate Judge John M. Conroy.

Another 8 to 10 search warrants were issued out of state, including for the homes of both Eratay and Banks when they were arrested, according to Van de Graaf, the lead prosecutor.

Banks, the shooter, pleaded guilty to three felony charges:  murder for hire, conspiracy to kidnap with death resulting and engaging in a monetary transaction with illegal proceeds.

Gumrukcu immigrated to the United States about 2013 and not long after arriving, he married William Anderson Wittekind in 2013, court records show. Court papers said he became a permanent resident in 2014 and Gumrukcu had said in court he is a citizen of Turkey.

Gumrukcu, who is a self-proclaimed medical doctor, had “tens of millions of dollars” and had a significant motive to try to fund a flight by Eratay to stop him from becoming a witness against him, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Vermont has said.

Serhat Gumrukcu is listed as a co-founder and inventor at Enochian BioSciences Inc.  He claimed on the company website he holds a medical degree and doctorate from Russian universities, but authorities said they have serious doubts about his claims.

The government also has evidence that Eratay’s citizenship for the United States was obtained through marriage fraud, Van de Graff has said.  He said the woman was interviewed and admitted the marriage from 2014 to 2019 was designed to help Eratay to get his citizenship here.

Melissa Davis, the widow, has filed on behalf of estate of Gregory Davis, a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against Gumrukcu. 

Mrs. Davis, who was named administrator of her husband’s estate, also maintains a loss of consortium and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the lawsuit said.