BURLINGTON — A federal jury has convicted the accused leader of a murder-for-hire plot of all charges brought against him in the 2018 killing in Vermont of a former business partner.

The 12-member jury returned its verdict Friday in federal court in Burlington in the case of Serhat Gumrukcu, finding him guilty of three felony counts: murder for hire, conspiracy to commit murder for hire and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. 

Gumrukcu, 42, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison when he is formally sentenced, which is expected to take place later this year.

Jurors began their deliberations a little after 5 p.m. Thursday and within 10 minutes asked Judge Christina Reiss if they could leave for the day and resume Friday morning. Reiss, after consulting with the attorneys in the case, granted that request.  

The case against Gumrukcu stems from the fatal shooting of 39-year-old Gregory Davis of Danville, Vt. Prosecutors say Gumrukcu ordered and paid for Davis to be killed over a failed oil trading deal between the two men.

The jury returned its verdict Friday afternoon after a total of about six hours of deliberation, which included a break for lunch.

Gumrukcu, dressed in a blue suit and tie, showed no obvious emotion when the verdict was read. He was led away to jail shortly thereafter.

Acting U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher, whose office prosecuted the case, praised the work of all those who had helped with the case over the years, including the trial team of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Van de Graaf and Zachary Stendig.

“This verdict is the product of years of investigative work by the men and women of the United States Attorney’s Office working closely with the Vermont State Police, the FBI and law enforcement around the country,” Drescher said. 

Gumrukcu’s attorney could not be reached following the verdict.   

The convictions for Gumrukcu represent a stunning fall for the Turkish national who became a permanent U.S. resident living in a luxury mansion in Los Angeles. 

The onetime magician who specialized in mind reading eventually earned millions for his biomedical research into treatments for incurable illnesses, according to trial testimony. Gumrukcu also partied with Hollywood elite, from Oscar winners to the producer of a big-budget blockbuster film who testified in the Burlington courtroom on Gumrukcu’s behalf.

The verdict follows a five-week trial for Gumrukcu that featured him taking the stand in his own defense, spending three days in the witness chair. 

During his testimony, Gumrukcu denied any role in Davis’ killing, though he admitted to providing false statements to authorities during the murder investigation as well as telling “so many lies” in his past business dealings that he couldn’t remember them all.

He told jurors he bought a medical degree from a Russian university, acknowledging that he knew it was “cheating.” He described himself as being “arrogant” at that time and wanting to follow a less traditional medical path that included the use of leeches and mistletoe to treat certain diseases. 

Gumrukcu wanted Davis dead, according to prosecutors, because he feared the Vermont man was going to go to authorities and accuse him of fraud in a business deal between them. That would, prosecutors said during the trial, potentially jeopardize a much bigger business deal Gumrukcu had been working on with the biomedical company, EnochianBioSciences, in which Gumrukcu stood to gain millions.

Van de Graaf, a prosecutor, delivered a more than one-hour closing argument Thursday, opening his presentation by telling jurors the case was about three words: “money,” “manipulation” and “murder.” 

Van de Graaf said the trial testimony — which included three other people charged in the murder plot as well as business records, emails and text messages — all pointed to Gumrukcu as the person who wanted Davis killed. Then, Van de Graaf said, Gumrukcu provided more than $200,000 to finance the murder.

“Gregg Davis was a problem for the defendant,” the prosecutor told jurors, and Gumrukcu’s solution was to “get rid” of Davis. “It was the defendant who paid for the murder,” he said.