Share this article:Federal Court in downtown Los Angeles. MyNewsLA.com photo by John Schreiber.
In a case that indicted four San Fernando Valley residents last year, four other defendants are charged with participating in a program to submit more than 150 fraudulent loan applications that required at least COVID-19 aid funds US $ 18 million was used to buy homes and other luxury purchases, the Justice Department announced on Friday.
Three of the new defendants were arrested Thursday on a 33-count indictment alleging a total of eight defendants of using fake, stolen, or synthetic identities to file fraudulent applications for loans made by the Small Business Administration as part of the Economic Injury Disaster Assistance Program and Paycheck Protection Program were guaranteed under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
The three defendants arrested on Thursday are: Manuk Grigoryan, 27, of Sun Valley; Edvard Paronyan, 40, from Granada Hills; and Vahe Dadyan, 41, from Glendale. All three were tried in the US District Court in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon.
During court appearances, which lasted into the evening, a judge released all three on bail and ordered them to stand trial on May 4th.
A fourth new defendant on the replacing indictment – Arman Hayrapetyan, 38, of Glendale – is still wanted by federal authorities.
The replacing indictment filed on Tuesday adds the four new defendants to a November indictment that resulted in the arrests of co-defendants Richard Ayvazyan and his wife Marietta Terabelian, and brother Artur Ayvazyan and wife Tamur of Dadyan, all of Encino.
According to the updated indictment, the eight defendants conspired together and with others as part of a disaster relief loan fraud ring that submitted fraudulent loan applications, often including falsified identification documents, tax documents and pay slips.
The eight defendants “submitted at least 151 fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications, prompting them to claim and received at least a total of at least $ 21.9 million in total PPP and EIDL income from the SBA and at least 11 financial institutions $ 18 million in PPP and EIDL loan proceeds from the SBA and financial institutions, ”the indictment reads.
The defendants allegedly used the funds fraudulently received as down payments for luxury properties in Tarzana, Glendale and Palm Desert. They also used the funds to buy gold coins, diamonds, jewelry, luxury watches, fine imported furniture, designer handbags and clothing, cryptocurrency, and securities.
All of the defendants named in the substitute indictment are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering. Each defendant is named on various other counts in the charges alleging wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
The indictment alleges that Richard Ayvazyan and Tamara Dadyan committed crimes after being released on bail. It is further alleged that Richard Ayvazyan continued to use his pseudonym "Iuliia Zhadko" to launder the proceeds of the system, including by using the money to purchase cryptocurrency and securities. Tamara Dadyan is accused of repeatedly lying to a bank as part of a program to illegally procure disaster relief funds that were frozen in an account fraudulently opened with a stolen identity.
The CARES Bill is a federal law passed March 29, 2020 designed to provide emergency financial aid to millions of Americans suffering from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Feds pulled on fraudulent $ 18 million COVID aid loan applications? Suspects caught for falsified ID documents was last changed: March 12, 2021 by
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