Glendale men and Burbank man sentenced for money-laundering scheme
A Glendale man responsible for a $1.66-million mass-mailing and money-laundering scam was sentenced to eight years in prison, authorities said Monday.
In addition to prison time, 37-year-old Artashes Darbinyan was also ordered to pay over $1.5 million in restitution. Orbel Hakobyan, a 42-year-old man also from Glendale, and a Burbank resident, 37-year-old Albert Yagubyan, were sentenced to prison for their participation in the scam as well.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Hakobyan will serve 24 months in prison, while Yagubyan will serve 18 months.
Last December, Darbinyan pleaded guilty to soliciting money through the mail using a pair of fake companies that offered fraudulent services.
Hakobyan had pleaded guilty for his part, while Yagubyan opted for a jury trial. In March, a jury convicted Yagubyan of one count of conspiracy to launder money, four counts of concealment of money laundering and one count of entering false bank entries.
The companies used by the three men offered prospective applicants trademark infringement monitoring and help with registering a trademark in return for $385.
However, the Department of Justice said the services were never provided.
Instead, Darbinyan stole the money and laundered it through a Glendale branch of Wells Fargo that was managed by Yagubyan. Hakobyan took the stolen funds from the scam and deposited them into fake accounts opened at the bank.
Hakobyan then used fake identities to withdraw the money in the forms of cash and cashier’s checks, which were then used to purchase gold, according to the department of justice.
Twitter: @Andy_Truc
