2 Arrested, 6 Sites Searched in Raids on Alleged Fraud Ring

Authorities searched six San Fernando Valley locations Thursday and arrested a chiropractor and another suspect who allegedly ran a car theft and insurance fraud ring.

Self-employed auto repairman Rouhel Feinstein, 50, of Sherman Oaks and chiropractor Niloofar Javaherian, 34, of Encino were both arrested without incident at 8:30 a.m. and were charged with insurance fraud.

Five others were detained later in the day.

Stolen cars valued at more than $1 million had been seized by Thursday afternoon, said Sgt. Rick Young of the Glendale Police Department.

A team of investigators--agents of the FBI and the National Insurance Crime Bureau and officers with the Glendale, Burbank and Los Angeles police departments--searched the suspects’ homes, two Van Nuys auto body shops, a Canoga Park pawnshop and Javaherian’s Encino chiropractic office.

Officials were unsure how long the ring had been operating. They said it stole cars throughout Los Angeles County.

Young said ring members would crash cars into innocent motorists to collect insurance. Conspirators allegedly went to Javaherian, who filed inflated insurance claims and false medical reports. Cars were sold by the auto body shops and pawnshops.

“We’re talking about a large-scale operation with high-end vehicles,” he said. “They weren’t taking your Hondas.”

Young pointed to the alleged ringleaders’ expensive homes as evidence of their success. Javaherian lives in the 3600 block of Ballina Canyon Road in Encino; Feinstein lives in the 14800 block of Valley Vista Boulevard in Sherman Oaks.

Nearby resident Susan Motter said she had not noticed any suspicious activity in her quiet, upscale neighborhood, which is regularly patrolled.

“It would be pretty stupid for anyone to do anything illegal here,” Motter said. Although none of the searched locations were in Glendale, Young said the monthlong investigation originated from stolen car claims in that city.

“We just followed the trail from incidents here to the key players,” he said.

Also searched were Van Nuys Motor in the 14400 block of Oxnard Street, Silver Arrow Collision Center in the 14200 block of Oxnard Street in Van Nuys, Javaherian’s office at 16101 Ventura Blvd. in Encino and Collateral Partners Pawn Shop at 21900 Sherman Way in Canoga Park.

Javaherian and Feinstein were both held at the Glendale Police Department in lieu of $30,000 bail.