Santa Ana police search for man suspected of stealing over $1 million in COVID-19 tests from employer
Santa Ana police are asking for the public’s help in finding a man suspected of rerouting more than $1 million worth of coronavirus tests from a warehouse where he worked to his home.
Carlitos Peralta, 33, of Santa Ana was a warehouse manager for the Covid Clinic at 3401 W. MacArthur Blvd., said Sgt. Maria Lopez, a police spokeswoman.
The business has seven warehouses across the United States and ships tests to clinics, pop-up sites, schools, hotels and other customers, according to a police alert.
Peralta had access to the Covid Clinic’s shipping and delivery system, the alert said.
Lopez said Peralta rerouted one shipment to his home by putting a co-worker’s name down as the sender.
A source confirmed that fugitives Richard Ayvazyan; his wife, Marietta Terabelian; and sister-in-law Tamara Dadyan were arrested in Montenegro.
That co-worker alerted their supervisors, who informed police, she said.
Detectives tried to arrest Peralta on Feb. 9 but weren’t able to find him, Lopez said. He remains at large.
A preliminary investigation found that Peralta started rerouting shipments on Dec. 30, she said. The scheme continued until Feb. 7.
The total number of tests stolen isn’t known, but detectives found that nearly 100 shipments were sent to his home, police said.
Authorities estimate the total value of the tests is $1,000,575.
Anyone with information on Peralta’s whereabouts is asked to call Det. Rashad Wilson at (714) 245-8551 or email him at RashadWilson@santa-ana.org.
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