Defendant Given 7 Years in Fuel Tax Scam

A Glendale man was sentenced this week to seven years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $700,000 for his role in what authorities called a complex, multimillion-dollar fuel excise tax scam and money laundering syndicate.

Akop “Apy” Hakopian, 38, was convicted in August on 56 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud and tax evasion. Hakopian, who ran Pegasus Transportation Co., a Long Beach trucking business, was one of 10 defendants investigated by the FBI last year for fraudulently purchasing about $8 million in diesel fuel during a three-month period.

The 10 were arrested after attempting to defraud a company called Magnum Oil, a fictitious firm set up by undercover FBI and IRS agents in a sting operation, authorities said.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Stephen Larson, who prosecuted the case, said Hakopian and the others ran a “burn company,” selling diesel fuel without paying the 18-cents-per-gallon excise tax to the state, then shutting down after several months. Using wholesaler’s permits obtained from the state Board of Equalization, the company sold more than 8 million gallons of fuel to gas stations and truck stops at reduced prices, undercutting competitors and keeping high profits for themselves.

Yousef Kamel Keroles of San Pedro, believed to be the mastermind of the scheme, was sentenced this week to two years in prison and ordered to pay more than $2 million in fines, restitution and back taxes. The eight other defendants in the case have previously pleaded guilty to related charges, and several have been fined and sentenced to prison, Larson said.

Larson said the convictions are part of an ongoing joint state and federal investigation into fuel tax evasion and related crimes in Southern California. The probe, “Operation Gas Gangsters,” has netted 23 convictions, $6 million in seized property and $3 million in restitution, he said.