Katie Jerkovich, Ben Chapman
New York Post
An accused scammer busted in a $17 million identity theft ring lived a lavish life in a gleaming North Hollywood mansion where he swindled millions out of wealthy elderly victims, prosecutors said.
FBI agents swarmed the Valley Village mansion of accused fraudster, Amen Vardevaryan, who allegedly worked with an identity-theft syndicate led by an illegal Iranian migrant to steal $17 million from wealthy Los Angeles homeowners.
The Post had a front-row seat to the action early Thursday morning, as agents moved in to arrest Vardevaryan, by blasting his stately white home with blinding spotlights.
Vardevaryan, a.k.a. “Gonch,” emerged from his home barefoot in pajamas and surrendered himself to FBI agents wearing flack vests and clutching assault rifles. He’s charged with eight counts of fraud.
The accused scammer has owned the home since 1997, according to property records. Before and after images online show what the home looked like before the house underwent major renovations in 2020.
The home previously contained a metal gate with stone columns dividing it from the other homes on the block.
Situated in the San Fernando Valley, the home built in 1979, is now a gleaming mansion after the remodel.
Images from Thursday’s bust show the walled-off home with a white and black fence surrounding it, painted in similar colors and looking very different after being remodeled.
The three-bed, three-bath home has a total living space of more than 2,350 square feet. It sits on a 6,000 square foot lot in Los Angeles County, where the cost of a square foot is nearly $600, according to Zillow. It is valued at more than $1.3 million dollars if it were to go on the market today.
Several Range Rovers were also parked out front of the home where investigators said Vardevaryan, 55, and 11 other alleged crooks — including an Iranian national wanted for deportation — stole $17 million from elderly LA property owners by taking their identities and applying for loans, using the properties as collateral.
Ringleaders Arnold Moradians, 57, and Nazaret Chakrian, 65, stole the identities of rich elderly victims who owned properties in Santa Monica, Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills and beyond before turning the information over to their associates, including Vardevaryan, prosecutors said.
Other suspects were arrested in eight other raids without incident.
The accused scammers face federal charges for fraud, money laundering and identity theft. Those arrested were being processed by officers at the Glendale Police Department Thursday morning.
Federal prosecutors say the alleged scammers stole the identities of elderly victims, used the information to obtain title reports for their homes and then solicited $17 million in hard money loans from private lenders secured by the victims’ properties.
The alleged crimes began in 2021 and continued at least through 2023.
“There is no shortage of massive fraud occurring within California,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, LA’s top federal prosecutor. “Today’s operation represents one of many sophisticated schemes used by criminals.”
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count of fraud and money laundering.