LOS ANGELES
A federal indictment alleges that from January 2021 to May 2023, defendants targeted elderly homeowners in Santa Monica and Los Angeles neighborhoods including Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Westwood, and Chinatown, officials announced Thursday.
Prosecutors say Nazaret Chakrian and Arnold Moradians stole victims’ personal information, which Chakrian and Craig Higdon used to create fake IDs. Cynthia Borjas and Avetis Hekimyan allegedly set up email accounts in victims’ names to impersonate them.
Using the stolen identities, Chakrian, Moradians, Hekimyan, Armen Vardevaryan, and Helen Spangler allegedly posed as agents or relatives and applied for hard money loans secured by the victims’ properties.
Chakrian, Hekimyan, Higdon, and Spangler allegedly fabricated documents — including bank records, leases, doctors’ notes, and death certificates — to support the applications. After loan approvals, Chakrian, Hekimyan, Victor Lossi, and Marine Sarkisian allegedly arranged fraudulent notarizations and signatures.
Ross Tarkhan allegedly created synthetic identities to open bank accounts used to move proceeds.
Lenders, relying on the false information, wired funds to accounts and mailboxes controlled by the defendants.
The scheme caused approximately $17.4 million in intended losses and about $6 million in actual losses.
An indictment contains allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.