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A San Fernando Valley couple who were accused of removing their tracking wristbands and found guilty of $ 18 million in a COVID-19 fraud case were found guilty of no-show on Monday despite their no-show Sentenced to federal prison in court.
Richard Ayvazyan, 43, and his wife and co-defendant Marietta Terabelian, 37, have been missing since August 29.
Federal authorities believe the couple, facing years of imprisonment, removed their location monitoring devices, left a note for their children, and escaped from their Encino home together. The next day, a judge in Los Angeles signed an arrest warrant for her.
Ayvazyan was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison and his wife to six years in prison, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Relatives of the couple claim the couple was abducted, apparently to prevent them from revealing the identities of the accomplices, who are not charged according to court records.
US District Judge Stephen V. Wilson dismissed the theory, ruling that Ayvazyan and Terabelian had a motive to flee and there was no evidence that they were forcibly abducted.
The police believe Ayvazyan and Terabelian are traveling together.
The couple and two relatives were found guilty in June of filing fraudulent loan applications in which they and others received more than $ 18 million in funds from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Catastrophe Loan for Economic Violation, with which they take down payments for luxury homes in Tarzana. made to Glendale and Palm Desert, and to purchase other high-end items such as gold coins, diamonds, jewelry, luxury watches, imported furniture, designer handbags, clothing, and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Prosecutors argued that penalties should be increased for the apparent escape from oversight and because many of the system’s victims are considered “vulnerable”.
Ayvazyan “sacrificed the elderly (including people with disabilities), the deceased, and foreign exchange students who had only spent months in the United States years ago and now lived thousands of miles away in a foreign land,” prosecutors wrote.
The defendants were convicted of conspiracy to engage in bank fraud and wire transfer fraud, wire transfer fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Ayvazyan was also found guilty of grave identity theft.
The Los Angeles federal jury ruled that the defendants would lose bank accounts, jewelry, watches, gold coins, three houses and about $ 450,000 in cash, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
Evidence showed that the defendants used false or stolen identities to submit fraudulent applications for credit. Prosecutors said the defendants also presented bogus documents, including forged identification documents, tax documents and pay slips, to lenders and the Small Business Administration to support the claims.
In the run-up to the verdict, four accomplices pleaded criminally guilty.
The FBI has asked anyone with information about the couple to call 310-477-6565.
Missing couple from San Fernando Valley sentenced to prison was last changed: 11/15/2021 from
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