Photo: ASIF HASSAN / AFP / Getty Images
He was sentenced to 6 years and 9 months in prison. Southern California man accused of stealing more than $1.7 million from major banks in check fraud scheme.
Ara Malkhasyan, 52, of Winnetka, pleaded guilty in April 2021. of one count of conspiracy to commit the fraud scheme.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Malkhasyan was the “ringleader and mastermind of a check scheme” which also included his wife, brother-in-law and other members of his family..
According to research, From May 2015 to September 2017, Malkhasyan and the other members of the conspiracy obtained stolen Armenian passports and altered the documents to include photographs of themselves.
With falsified documents, The convicted man and his accomplices used them to obtain other identity documents that would allow them to open bank accounts..
Malkhasyan and the other members issued bad checks to other fraudulently obtained bank accounts using banking rules that allowed them to transfer money from one account to another.
Subsequently, They immediately withdrew funds from ATMs in Las Vegas casinos and elsewhere before the checks were bounced..
Through this method, Suspects Allegedly Obtained $1,304,307 from Bank of Americaauthorities said.
In a separate plan, from April 2017 to May 2019, Makhasyan and his brother-in-law, Smbat Khechumyan41, of North Hollywood, set up a similar forged check scheme.
With stolen Armenian passports and forged Ukrainian and Belarusian passports, a suspect opened an account at Wells Fargo bank in which they deposited forged checks and immediately withdrew the funds also at casino ATMs in Las Vegas.
With this second operation, the authorities said that the suspects allegedly stole $401,420.
In October 2021, Smbat pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.crimes for which he serves a sentence of two years in prison.
Malkhasyan’s wife, Sveta Khechumyan, 49, pleaded guilty in April 2021 to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 3, 2023.
Prosecutors, in total, obtained nine guilty pleas in this case.
Keep reading:
· Why banks in the US can close their customers’ accounts without giving them an explanation
· Irvine man sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for spending Covid-19 relief funds on Ferraris and luxury vacations
· Orange County man sentenced to 4 years in prison for $5 million COVID relief loan fraud