{"id":7258,"date":"2014-11-10T18:09:06","date_gmt":"2014-11-11T02:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=7258"},"modified":"2014-11-11T11:58:33","modified_gmt":"2014-11-11T19:58:33","slug":"gang-leader-sentenced-32-years-bank-fraud-dozens-felonies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=7258","title":{"rendered":"Gang Leader Sentenced to 32 Years for Bank Fraud and Dozens of Other Crimes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Federal<\/a>LOS ANGELES<\/strong> \u2013 A leader of the Armenian Power gang, \u00a0known as \u201cHollywood Mike\u201d and \u201cCapone,\u201d was sentenced on Monday to 32 years in prison, officials said.<\/p>\n

U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner, sentenced \u00a0Mher Darbinyan,<\/strong> 39, of Valencia. He was convicted \u00a0of 57 counts \u00a0for his role in a racketeering conspiracy that included extortion, bank fraud, and a sophisticated credit and debit card skimming scheme, authorities said.<\/p>\n

The judge described the string of crimes as \u201cheinous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Darbinyan was a leader of a gang responsible for extortion, firearms offenses, fraud and identity theft throughout the Los Angeles area, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo community is safe from defendant — not the members of his own Armenian-American community and not the members of the multiple communities throughout Southern California that he has victimized through his widespread fraud schemes,\u201d prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum filed with the court that recommended the 32-year sentence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Among other offenses, Darbinyan operated a sophisticated bank fraud scheme that used middlemen and runners to deposit and cash hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks drawn on the accounts of elderly bank customers and businesses.<\/p>\n

Darbinyan also organized and operated a sophisticated debit card skimming operation targeting customers of 99 Cents Only Stores across Southern California. This expansive scheme involved the installation and use of skimmers to steal thousands of customers\u2019 debit card numbers and PIN codes.<\/p>\n

Evidence presented during a trial earlier this year also showed that Darbinyan conspired to extort money from a member of the Armenian community by threatening violence against the victim and his family members.<\/p>\n

Additionally, on two separate occasions, Darbinyan possessed firearms and ammunition after having previously been convicted of felony grand theft for his role in a 2004 debit card fraud scheme, the evidence indicated.<\/p>\n

Darbinyan was among 90 individuals charged in 2011 in two indictments targeting Armenian Power, officials said.<\/p>\n

To date, authorities said 87 individuals have been convicted, two defendants are fugitives, and prosecutors dismissed charges against one defendant.<\/p>\n

Authorities said the Armenian Power is believed to have more than 250 documented members and hundreds of associates \u2013 is responsible for violent criminal acts, including murders, attempted murders, kidnappings, robberies, extortions and witness intimidation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2013 A leader of the Armenian Power gang, \u00a0known as \u201cHollywood Mike\u201d and \u201cCapone,\u201d was sentenced on Monday to 32 years in prison, officials said. U.S. District Judge R. Gary…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7260,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nGang Leader Sentenced to 32 Years for Bank Fraud and Dozens of Other Crimes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LOS ANGELES \u2013 A leader of the Armenian Power gang, \u00a0known as \u201cHollywood Mike\u201d and \u201cCapone,\u201d was sentenced on Monday to 32 years in prison, officials said.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=7258\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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