The FBI busted a theft ring in California including several foreign nationals that stole the identities of elderly Americans to take out fraudulent loans in their names.
The investigation, dubbed “Operation Hard Money,” centered in Los Angeles, California and netted eleven arrests after a 15-count indictment was handed down this month, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
The indictment alleges that the suspects initiated a scheme in which they stole the identities of elderly victims, used that information to obtain title reports for residential properties, then solicited millions of dollars in hard money loans from private lenders by falsely representing the loans as being secured by the elderly victims’ properties.
Those arrested and charged include Nazaret Chakrian, Avetis Hekimya, Ross Tarkhan, Tigran Hovanesia, Armen Vardevaryan, Craig Higdon, Helen Spangler, Victor Lossi, and Cynthia Borjas. All but Craig Higdon, who is a Florida resident, live in the L.A. area. Also, two foreign nationals were arrested: Arnold Moradians, an Iranian national; and Marine Sarkisian, an Azerbaijani national.
The suspects have been charged with various counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud, as well as identity theft and money laundering.
“There is no shortage of massive fraud occurring within California,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Today’s operation represents one of many sophisticated schemes used by criminals — including foreign nationals — to defraud U.S. citizens and taxpayers of their hard-earned property. Those days are over under this U.S. Department of Justice. These defendants will be facing significant prison time for their charged conduct.”
“The defendants didn’t just steal identities, they used those stolen identities to secure high value real estate loans, fabricate financial documents, and move millions of dollars through a maze of fraudulent businesses and funnel accounts,” added Tyler Hatcher, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-CI Los Angeles Field Office. “Our agents traced every wire, every transfer, and every shell account to expose the financial backbone of this conspiracy. This indictment sends a clear message, IRS CI will dismantle the money pipelines that allow complex fraud schemes to flourish, and we will hold accountable those who profit from exploiting our financial system.”
If convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each fraud- and money laundering-related count, and a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years in federal prison for the aggravated identity theft count, the feds reported.
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