14 DAY TRIAL // A total of eight individuals believed to be connected to the Armenian Power gang have pleaded guilty to charges such as bank fraud, drug trafficking, racketeering conspiracy, illegal possession of firearms, and aggravated identity theft.
Four of the defendants are members and associates of the criminal ring, while the other four played various roles in the crimes committed by the Armenian Power gang.
The ones who pleaded guilty are Arman Tangabekyan, aka “Spito” and “Thick Neck,” 34; Karo Yerkanyan, aka “Guilty,” 32; Artur Pembejian, aka “Cham,” 36; Simon Antonyan, aka “Simo,” 38; Raymond Tarverdyan, aka “Rye,” 35; Khachatur Arakelyan, aka “Khecho,” 39; Adam Davoodian, 32; and Vartenie Ananian, 29.
They are among the 70 individuals charged in July 2011 for criminal activities associated with the criminal enterprise.
Four of those who have pleaded guilty now are among the 29 people accused of taking part in the Armenian Power gang’s RICO conspiracy. This particular scheme involved credit card skimming, bank fraud, money laundering, and the manufacturing of counterfeit checks.
It’s believed that the crooks stole over $2 million (€1.5 million) from 99 Cents Only store customers with the aid of sophisticated credit card skimming devices installed at cash registers.
Tarverdyan, a member of Armenian Power, Antonyan, Arakelyan and Ananian are said to have been involved in this scheme.
Yerkanyan took part in a bank fraud scheme in which he and his co-conspirators used stolen personal and financial information to open fraudulent bank accounts, loans and lines of credit at Bank of America and HSBC.
The eight individuals who pleaded guilty will be sentenced on November 25, 2013. Yerkanyan could be sentenced to a maximum of 102 years in prison.
Antonyan and Arakelyan face only a maximum of two years in prison, but the others could each be sentenced to between 20 and 52 years in jail.
Until now, a total of 51 defendants have pleaded guilty to taking part in the Armenian Power gang’s illegal activities.