Shocking Footage: Las Vegas Hitman Caught on Camera in Deadly PPP Fraud Rampage!
LAS VEGAS — Videos obtained by 8 News Now Investigators reveal a series of killings allegedly carried out by a hitman, Michael Coleman, as part of a violent retaliation in a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud scheme.
Authorities say the murders were linked to a larger scheme involving tens of millions of dollars in federal loan fraud.
Coleman, 41, was initially arrested in May 2023 for the murder of 48-year-old Kidada Stewart. However, Las Vegas police later connected him to three additional murders from 2021 and 2022. A Clark County grand jury indicted Coleman for the additional killings earlier this month.
The investigation began in February 2023, when officers responded to a 911 call reporting gunshots near Fort Apache Road and Mountains Edge Way.
Police discovered Stewart dead outside a home. Coleman was tracked to Stewart’s murder following a traffic stop in Arizona just 12 hours after the shooting. His arrest came in May after a standoff with authorities.
During the investigation, police uncovered a fraudulent PPP loan scheme led by Carl Chester. Chester allegedly secured multiple PPP loans and took a percentage of the proceeds.
When Chester did not receive his promised share, he reportedly resorted to threats and violence to collect his money. According to authorities, Chester hired Coleman to murder those who shorted him, and in cases where the targets could not be reached, their family members became the next victims.
In May 2021, police suspect Coleman shot and killed 49-year-old Benjamin McCarty while McCarty was working on his car in a parking lot on Charleston Boulevard. Evidence, including video footage and emails, linked Coleman to the murder.
Video showed a man believed to be Coleman fleeing the scene, and detectives found emails in which Coleman allegedly sent McCarty’s photo to Chester prior to the murder.
Coleman’s second murder charge stems from the death of Marcus Larry, 39, who was shot multiple times inside a Teriyaki Madness restaurant on Charleston Boulevard. Larry was accompanied by a minor when the assailant stormed in and opened fire.
A cashier, who also suffered gunshot wounds, survived and testified before a grand jury. Initially, Larry’s cousin, Oscar Richardson, Jr., was arrested for the crime but later released after police obtained evidence proving his innocence.
Investigators eventually tied Coleman to the crime through DNA evidence found on a van he abandoned near Red Rock Resort.
The third murder linked to Coleman was the killing of 54-year-old William Hill Jr. outside his home near Martin Luther King Jr. and Lake Mead boulevards. Surveillance footage captured a red Hyundai, the same vehicle used in Stewart’s murder, dropping Coleman off at the scene.
Coleman then approached Hill and shot him before fleeing in the Hyundai, driven by Demarcus Banks, who has since died.
Police believe Hill’s murder was connected to his son, who is serving time in prison for PPP loan fraud. Unable to reach Hill’s son, Chester and Coleman targeted the father instead.
In a turn of events, Chester, the alleged mastermind behind the murders, was himself murdered in May 2024 by members of Hill’s family in an act of retaliation. Police have made additional arrests in connection with Chester’s death.
Coleman remains in custody without bail. His trial for Stewart’s murder is set to begin next month, and he is also scheduled for arraignment in the combined criminal case involving the three other murder charges.