Horrific moment Vegas murder suspect appears to pour gasoline on body wrapped in blankets in desert before telling cops 30-year-old victim was scam artist

A Las Vegas man suspected of murdering his 30-year-old roommate has revealed that the victim was a con artist who allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme.

Gino Anthony Julian, 30, was arrested last year for the alleged murder of Aaron Chavez.

He was taken into custody by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in August 2023 after they found him with a burned and partially buried body in the middle of the desert.

After he was arrested, Julian told detectives he was working for unknown individuals in Miami, who allegedly sent him duffel bags to deliver to various locations and received $5,000 to $10,000 per delivery, according to police documents.

On August 10, he received an ominous note that read, “Take care of it.”

Julian revealed to police that Chavez (pictured) had a lot of money he made through Ponzi schemes

Julian told officials that he found Chavez’s corpse in the backseat of his Mercedes and believed that a message he received to “take care of it” was for him to throw it away.

Julian further claims that many people were angry at Chavez for his alleged fraudulent activities, according to grand jury transcripts

Two days later, he told officials that he found Chavez’s body in the backseat of his Mercedes and thought the message was for him to throw it away.

As Julian awaits a jury trial, which takes place in May, he revealed to police that the victim had a lot of money he made through Ponzi schemes.

He further claims that many people were angry with him because of his alleged fraudulent activities, according to grand jury transcripts.

That is a Ponzi scheme described as investment fraud where people pay existing investors with money raised from new investors.

But Julian’s claims may be true, as two unidentified California men said 8NewsNow that they had been defrauded by Chavez.

The two men told the station that they gave Chavez $25,000 to invest in protein cookies.

Detectives also found videos on Julian’s phone that showed the two men together before Chavez died

One video shows Julian physically assaulting Chavez (photo), while another shows the suspect pouring gasoline on Chavez’s body, which was wrapped in blankets.

When they contacted them to ask how their investments were doing, the now deceased victim made excuses.

But once they found Chavez’s social media accounts and saw his extravagant lifestyle, they realized they had been scammed out of their money.

“I texted our group chat that he’s going to fake his death,” one of the investors told the station.

Evidence In connection with his death, it also emerged that Chavez had gotten into an argument with the suspect and another man, Stefan Jakubov.

Chavez had said to Julian in one of their conversations, “If I get hit, you’ll be charged,” to which the suspect replied, “Dead men can’t press charges.”

In a similar tone, police say Yakubov also sent “Break his face” and “Delete our convos” to Julian.

Julian had then written back: ‘Where should I perform the show?’ and ‘Is there bleach or chlorine?’

Detectives also found videos on Julian’s phone that showed the two men together before Chavez died.

One clip shows Julian physically assaulting Chavez, while another shows the suspect pouring gasoline on Chavez’s body, wrapped in blankets.

There was also a text message on Julian’s phone to an unknown person that read: “We don’t have to have people over for a while because we have to clean the apartment,” documents said.

The suspect remains in custody at the Clark County Detention Center in downtown Las Vegas.