Glendale : Plea Entered in Forgery Case
A real estate agent who was charged with forging documents in an attempt to steal more than $5-million worth of land from an 88-year-old Glendale man has pleaded no contest to 13 counts of forgery, filing false documents and grand theft.
Abranham Avanous Hovik, 49, of Sunland, entered the plea Monday after Pasadena Superior Court Judge Terry Smerling said he would impose a sentence of no more than three years in state prison. If convicted in a trial, Hovik would have faced a maximum nine-year prison term, court officials said.
Sentencing was set for Dec. 5.
Hovik was charged with stealing real estate from Neal Garrett, a self-described “old hermit,” who has said he owns more than 100 pieces of land in Los Angeles County. Investigators alleged that Hovik forged Garrett’s name on documents that transferred ownership of valuable lots to the agent.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
