REGION : Man Arrested in New Year Travel Scam

A man suspected of bilking Russian-speaking citizens out of $10,000 was arrested by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies last week in an alleged travel scam offering bogus New Year’s Eve trips to Disneyland, Sea World and Las Vegas.

More than 250 people--who each paid up to $150 for the New Year’s Eve excursions--were left standing on a West Hollywood street corner Dec. 31, 1994, waiting for buses to take them to their destinations.

The trips “were advertised as ‘Surprise Tours’ and it turned out to be a surprise, all right,” said sheriff’s Detective Curt Henderson.

Marut Hovanesyan 43, was arrested without incident at 7:15 a.m. Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. He is being charged with grand theft and held on $100,000 bail.

Hovanesyan had advertised the trips in Russian, posting flyers in West Hollywood stores and Russian-language newspapers and on a local cable channel, Henderson said. The tickets offered one night’s lodging and transportation to Disneyland for $50, Sea World for $75 and Las Vegas for $150, Henderson said.

At least 80 people paid for several tickets each, many bringing their families on what were expected to be New Year’s celebrations.

But when the victims, most carrying luggage, went to meet the buses at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue, the transportation never arrived. After waiting several hours, about 50 ticket buyers notified the Sheriff’s Department and filed crime reports at the West Hollywood station. Now a total of 80 people have said they purchased tickets.

Henderson said detectives began investigating the crime Jan. 1 but only recently located Hovanesyan.

“We were surprised to find that he had stayed in the area,” Henderson said. “It turned out he was only a few blocks outside of West Hollywood.”