ICE busts Armenian crime syndicate operating in California, Florida
By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square
A multi-agency investigation led to the arrest of 13 alleged members of Armenian organized crime syndicates operating in California and Florida.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and law enforcement officers in California and Florida arrested 13 alleged members and associates of Armenian organized crime syndicates on Tuesday, also seizing firearms, approximately $100,000 in cash and three armored vehicles.
They were charged in five federal complaints for allegedly committing attempted murder, kidnapping, illegal firearm possession and over $80 million worth of theft from Amazon and its retailers.
“This transnational criminal organization operated with the structure and brutality of an international cartel, inflicting significant harm on public safety and causing substantial damage to legitimate commerce and supply chains,” ICE Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Dwayne Angebrandt said.
Since 2022, two local Armenian crime leaders have allegedly been involved in a power struggle for control of their U.S. territory, resulting in multiple murder attempts and a kidnapping, according to the complaint.
Ara Artuni, 41, living in Porter Ranch, Calif., was charged with attempted murder in aid of racketeering. His rival, Robert Amiryan, 46, living in Hollywood, was charged with kidnapping. Their scheduled court appearances are in Los Angeles.
Armenian Vahan Harutyunyan, 50, living in Hollywood, Florida, was also arrested. He made his initial court appearance on Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale. A judge ordered him to be detained.
Two other Armenians living in Nevada and California, Levon Arakelyan, 45, and Ivan Bojorquez, 33, respectively, are currently in state custody, ICE said.
The transnational criminal organization, Armenian Organized Crime, is affiliated with the Russian mafia and has made Los Angeles County a center of U.S. operations, according to affidavits filed with the criminal complaints.
In 2023, Artuni allegedly ordered the attempted murder of Amiryan, authorities said. In retaliation, Amiryan allegedly conspired to kidnap and torture one of Artuni’s associates, authorities said.
Since at least 2021, Artuni and his criminal enterprise have committed bank fraud, wire fraud, and “cargo theft” targeting online retailers like Amazon.com Inc., the complaint alleges. To defraud Amazon, he and his associates enrolled as Amazon carriers, contracted for trucking routes, and stole all or part of the shipments they were supposed to deliver. They allegedly stole more than $83 million worth of goods from Amazon, according to the complaint.
The operation also ran a “credit card bust-out” scheme, according to the complaint, charging various credit cards to a sham business, then draining the business account before credit card companies could collect disputed funds.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said the bust was “a warning to criminals: Our communities are not your playground to engage in violence and thuggery.”
Working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Burbank Police investigators “spent hundreds of hours investigating these heinous violent crimes,” Burbank Police Chief Rafael Quintero said.
If convicted of the charges, the Armenians face statutory maximum sentences of 10 years in federal prison to life imprisonment.
Multiple federal agencies were involved in the investigation, including Homeland Security Investigations; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General; IRS Criminal Investigation; and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department Major Crimes Division – Transnational Organized Crime Section and Burbank Police Department were also heavily involved.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.