A California landlord has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for trying to kill two people and burning down a residence to get rid of his tenants. 

Arthur Raffy Aslanian, 54, of La Cañada Flintridge used violence and destruction to get his way, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. In 2022, Aslanian set into motion two plots to murder people he viewed as his enemies. The first was a lawyer, identified as M.Y. in court filings. M.Y. was Aslanian’s one-time attorney and had successfully represented Aslanian in a bankruptcy case. The case racked up $260,000 in legal fees that Aslanian had no intention of paying; when M.Y. sent him a letter threatening to sue if he didn’t settle his debts, Aslanian decided to kill the lawyer.

The second target was identified in court documents as S.E. Aslanian and S.E. went to court over a Brentwood home where S.E.’s parents were living. Aslanian attempted to take the home from them, eventually losing in court. 

Aslanian instructed his employee Sesar Rivera, 41, to find someone to kill both M.Y. and S.E. In April 2022, Rivera met with a convicted felon and said a real estate entrepreneur named Arthur wanted two people killed. Rivera sent photos and personal information about the would-be victims to the man, including via Facebook Messenger. He promised to pay $20,000 once there was “photographic proof the murder had been committed,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a press release.

The man used his phone to secretly record at least one of his conversations with Rivera. He then turned the recording over to law enforcement, who warned M.Y. and S.E. of the threat against their lives.

In early Sept. 2022, law enforcement detained Rivera, who agreed to cooperate in their investigation against Aslanian. About a week later, Rivera set up a meeting with Aslanian to show him a “staged murder photograph of S.E.” Officers then arrested Aslanian and charged him with conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire.

In addition to his deadly scheme, Aslanian also paid “a few hundred dollars” for someone to set fire to a vacant unit in one of his North Hollywood rental properties “so the remaining tenants would be forced to leave,” prosecutors said. The Los Angeles Times reported the tenants had a “long-running dispute” with Aslanian, who they characterized as a slumlord who was “harassing and threatening” them.

Aslanian was found guilty of multiple arson and conspiracy-related charges. Last week, a judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison. Rivera pleaded guilty to all charges and is awaiting sentencing this summer; he faces up to 10 years for each count of conspiracy and use of interstate commerce facilities for the commission of a murder-for-hire plot.