A group of Armenians charged in massive criminal conspiracies in California
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California has instituted a criminal case against 33 people on different charges. Most of the arrestees are Armenians, Aravot.am reports citing the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The latter says on its website that 32 people were arrested yesterday after being charged variously with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit identity theft, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to use a facility of interstate commerce to commit murder-for-hire and conspiracy to engage in the unlicensed wholesale distribution of drugs. A thirty-third defendant remains at large and is subject to an active arrest warrant. According to an indictment that was unsealed yesterday, Ara Karapedyan, 45, Mihran Stepanyan, 29, and Artur Stepanyan, 38, were at the center of a nationwide conspiracy—with at least 18 other person—to conduct the affairs of a wide-ranging criminal enterprise through a pattern of racketeering. This enterprise was fueled by a broad range of criminal activity including unlicensed wholesale drug distribution, money laundering and fraud. The indictment names 33 defendants in all and describes an enterprise that spanned throughout California as well as in Minnesota, Ohio and Puerto Rico. Details are available here
