Accused Identity Theft Scammers Plead Not Guilty

ACCUSED IDENTITY THEFT SCAMMERS PLEAD NOT GUILTY

San Diego 6
10/09 5:52 pm

SAN DIEGO – A group of mostly Russian and Armenian nationals,
accused of stealing between $600,000 and $700,000 in a series of
identity-theft scams, pleaded not guilty Friday to conspiracy, grand
theft and other charges.

Deputy District Attorney Sharla Evert told Judge David Szumowski that
the 11 defendants were involved in a life insurance scam in which more
than 40 people were signed up for life insurance they didn’t want;
a tax refund scam using visiting students; a scam using counterfeit
credit cards to buy merchandise at Louis Vuitton stores in San Diego;
and a check-writing scam using students.

Arrested and charged with 19 felony charges were: Karen Karapetyan,
48; Khackik Karapetyan, 25; Ruslan Kipnis, 33; Armen Astsaturov 36;
Gariy Agadzhanyan, 32; Andrey Babkin, 20; Mikhail Margis, 21; Igor
Muratov, 21; Elizaveta Chernova, 21; Arman Eritsian, 31; and Davit
Karapetyan, 22.

Some of the defendants are in the United States on work visas and
have been placed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds as
a result of their arrest. Others are part of a group that brought
Russian citizens to the U.S. and helped them obtain jobs as pedicab
drivers, prosecutors said.

Szumowski ordered all of the defendants held on $750,000 bail and
scheduled a preliminary hearing for Oct. 26.