Eleven defendants have been arrested for running a real estate crime ring that stole the identities of elderly homeowners for title deed theft and loan fraud.
According to the indictment, between January 2021 to May 2023 the fraudsters obtained the personal identifying information of elderly Californians who owned properties in Santa Monica and across four Los Angeles neighborhoods. The information was used to create counterfeit identification documents and phony email addresses.
The fraudsters then misrepresented themselves as the victims’ agents, brokers, representatives or relatives, and submitted fraudulent applications to private money lenders for hard money loans secured by the victims’ properties. False documents – including bank statements, rental agreements, doctors’ notes, and death certificates – were submitted to the lenders. The phony documents were fraudulently notarized and signed by individuals claiming to represent the victims.
The fraudsters then opened bank accounts under false names, which were used to funnel proceeds derived from the scheme. The total intended loss in this case is approximately $17.4 million, and the total actual loss is approximately $6 million.
A 15-count federal indictment was brought against the following defendants, who were residing in California at the time of their arrests:
- Nazaret Chakrian, 65, a.k.a. “Niko,” of Hollywood;
- Arnold Moradians, 57, a.k.a. “Julian,” of Hollywood, an Iranian national who has an outstanding warrant for removal from the United States;
- Avetis Hekimyan, 38, a.k.a. “Chef Avo,” of North Hollywood;
- Ross Tarkhan, 32, of Glendale;
- Tigran Hovanesian, 56, of Glendale;
- Armen Vardevaryan, 55, a.k.a. “Gonch,” of North Hollywood;
- Helen Spangler, 62, of Oakdale, California, who will make her initial appearance in the Eastern District of California;
- Victor Lossi, 43, of Thousand Oaks; and
- Marine Sarkisian, 49, of Hollywood, an Azerbaijani national and green card holder.
- Cynthia Borjas, 51, of Koreatown.
Another defendant was Craig Higdon, 66, of Naples, Florida, who made his initial court appearance in the Middle District of Florida.
All defendants except Hovanesian are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and seven counts of wire fraud. Chakrian, Moradians, Borjas, Hekimyan, Tarkhan, Spangler, Lossi, and Sarkisian are charged with one count of aggravated identity theft. Chakrian, Moradians, Tarkhan, and Hovanesian are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Tarkhan is further charged with five counts of money laundering.
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 growing problem of title fraud victimizes homeowners and lenders, many of whom are elderly and have their identities stolen, in addition to their hard-earned money,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “An investigation by the FBI Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force, LAPD, and other law enforcement partners led to today’s arrests of multiple perpetrators of this cruel scheme who now face lengthy prison sentences.”
Photo courtesy of the FBI
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