US Official News Saturday Attorney recommended for disbarment for taking money meant for Armenian genocide survivors Sacramento: The State Bar of California, The State of California has issued the following news release: The State Bar Court of California has recommended that a Southern California lawyer be disbarred for misappropriating $30,000 from a trust fund for Armenian genocide survivors, using other trust money to pay for her children’s law school and failing to properly report the transactions to tax authorities. A State Bar Court judge found that Rita Mahdessian, 58, [#141901] was culpable for misappropriating funds from a trust she and her husband were hired to administer, according to court documents. Mahdessian and her husband, Vartkes Boghos Yeghiayan, 81, [#41773], received notice of disciplinary charges on Aug. 18, 2016 for allegedly misappropriating $385,000 meant for Armenian Genocide survivors. According to court documents, in 2005 Yeghiayan and Mahdessian received in trust a $20 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit against New York Life Insurance Co. and AXA, S.A. on behalf of heirs and descendants of persons killed during the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1918. Shortly after, Yeghiayan and Mahdessian created two nonprofit corporations – the Center for Armenian Remembrance (CAR) and Conservatoire de la Memorie Armenienne (CMA). Articles of incorporation for both nonprofits list the Glendale business address of the couple’s law firm, Yeghiayan & Associates. Over several years, multiple questionable transactions took place in both CAR and CMA bank accounts. Court documents trace check deposits from the settlement fund to the couple’s nonprofits and their law firm. Records also reveal other unauthorized payments and transfers, including repayment of loans, payments to Loyola Law School and transfers to Mahdessian’s daughter. In one instance, Mahdessian created an account in her daughter's name and then deposited $30,000 from one of the trusts. Mahdessian justified the transfer by saying it was a repayment of a loan from her daughter. But no such loan had ever been made. None of those funds have yet to be returned to the trust. She used another fund’s monies to pay for law school tuition for her children. The State Bar Court found that Mahdessian had misled a judge, failed to maintain funds in a trust account and committed moral turpitude. The State Bar Court ordered that Mahdessian be placed on involuntary inactive status. The final decision on Mahdessian’s disbarment rests in the hands of the California Supreme Court. The case against Mahdessian’s husband stands in abatement because of illness. A special deputy trial counsel was appointed to prosecute Mahdessian’s attorney discipline case in accordance with rule 2201, which sets out a process for the Chief Trial Counsel to recuse the office to avoid actual or potential conflicts of interest. The State Bar of California received more than 15,000 complaints in 2016. As a result of disciplinary actions taken by the State Bar of California, nearly 200 attorneys were disbarred in 2016 and the Client Security Fund paid out more than $8 million to victims of attorney misconduct. In case of any query regarding this article or other content needs please contact:
Category: 2017
Sports: Henrikh Mkhitaryan puts in superb performance for Manchester United in 4-0 victory against Everton
The Peoples Person, UK
Sept 17 2017
Sept 17 2017
Sports: Martin Murray makes short work of Arman Torosyan at the Echo Arena
St Helens Star, UK
Sept 17 2017
Food: New chef for Courtyard by Marriott Dubai Green Community
Gulf Digital News
Sept 17 2017
New chef for Courtyard by Marriott Dubai Green Community
Courtyard by Marriott Dubai Green Community has appointed Artyom Hakobyan as the new chef of Cucina, the hotel’s Italian eatery.
Originally from Armenia, Hakobyan joins the Marriott family with seven years’ experience and a love for molecular gastronomy.
Hakobyan found his calling to the culinary world when he began his career in the army where he served for two years as a chef in the kitchen. With a degree in Culinary Arts, he got his first official break at the Mama Mia Pizzeria in Yerevan, Armenia. He then moved to Ankyun in the same city as demi chef de partie where he oversaw the salad section, learned the basics of molecular gastronomy and discovered a deep love for Italian food. After a year, Hakobyan traveled to Abu Dhabi to join the Italian joint, Porto Bello at the Grand Millennium Al Wahda as demi chef de partie which during his tenure, received Best Italian Restaurant by Time Out Abu Dhabi. During his five years at the property, Hakobyan was responsible for all the pasta and risotto dishes, along with being a reliever of the pizzaiolo chef.
Chef Hakobyan was then given the opportunity to join Mazina at The Address Dubai Marina as chef de partie specialty where he worked for almost two years. Over that period, he was responsible for curating the menu which included free pizzas, pastas, raviolis and other Italian delicacies. He also acted as the reliever for the chef in charge of the steak section.
Hakobyan has been recognised over the years with a Gold Medal in La Cuisine by Sial Middle East Abu Dhabi Five-Course Gourmet Dinner Menu 2013, Bronze Medal in La Cuisine by SIAL Middle East Abu Dhabi Fish and Seafood Practical Cookery 2014 and in the Five-Course Gourmet Dinner Menu. He also was given a Silver Medal in La Cuisine by Sial Middle East Abu Dhabi Australian Beef Practical Cookery 2014 and a Bronze Medal in the Emirates Salon Culinary Dubai Fish and Seafood Practical Cookery 2014.
In his new role at Courtyard by Marriott Green Community, Chef Hakobyan will be looking over the daily operations of Cucina, the hearty Italian restaurant located within the hotel and well-loved by the surrounding community. The chef will also play a key role in an exciting concept catering to leisurely weekend dining launching on September 22 at Cucina. – TradeArabia News Service
Shoushi, Artsakh – Slice of Life Photos – Hetq – News, Articles, Investigations
12:58,
In June, a group of photographers from Armenia traveled to the town of Shoushi, in Artsakh, as part of the “Shoushi 48 Hours” initiative.
The photos they took of residents and their daily lives appeared in the Shoushi 48 Hours” book that was launched on September 12, in the town, the second largest in Artsakh.
Here are some photos from the book.
An exclusive representative delegation of the US Congress will visit Armenia
- 16.09.2017
- Armenia:
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- rus
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“Our parents would be proud to see us visiting Armenia,” a representative delegation of United States congressmen will visit Armenia this Sunday, September 17, on the initiative of Congressman Jackie Spear Kanchelyan, who has Armenian roots, reports “Voice of America”.
The delegation includes congressmen Frank Pallon, who brought American aid to Armenia after the devastating earthquake in Spitak, a congressman with Armenian roots Anna Eshun, congressman David Valadao, on whose initiative a few days ago the US Congress decided to allocate additional money for demining works in Nagorno Karabakh. A congressman elected from Hawaii will also visit Armenia Tulsi Gabbard and a congressman from Wisconsin Jim Sensenbrenner:
“This is probably the visit of the largest delegation of congressmen to independent democratic Armenia”, – congressman Spir Kanchelyan He admits to “Voice of America” that the agenda of his visit to Armenia is so tight that he cannot imagine how he will manage to carry it out in a few days. As for the goals of the visit, they are numerous.
“The first is to strengthen our friendship, to help Armenia get rid of the manifestations of corruption still remaining in the country, to create new opportunities to provide assistance to Armenia aimed at the development of democracy.”
This visit has an emotional meaning for the congressman. “For those of us with Armenian roots, it is certainly very important to visit the homeland, get acquainted with the historical homeland, feel it, touch it.”
The political side of the visit is also not neglected. “I would like Armenia to receive more aid, because I see Armenia as our partner in a region that is under the influence of Russia’s aggressive actions.”
US legislators plan to discuss with the Armenian side the issue of strengthening Armenia’s energy independence, because now Armenia depends on Russia for energy supplies, which, according to the congressman, wants to restore the Soviet Union. “I am sure that Armenia does not want to become Soviet Armenia again.”
Jackie Spear Kanchelyan emphasizes the huge potential of Armenia in the development of the technological sector and emphasizes the Armenian Ambassador to the USA Grigor Hovhannisyan,according to the congressman, the brilliant work aimed at strengthening Armenian-American relations. The United States is ready for the expansion of political and economic relations with Armenia.
“We want to strengthen relations with Armenia so that Armenia never again has to worry about the threat of its sovereignty.”
Another advantage of Armenia is the Armenian diaspora. Many Armenians with serious achievements in the United States want to restore the connection with Armenia, and the congressmen in Armenia will also discuss these prospects.
5 Companies in Armenia Receiving Largest State Procurement Contracts Are Linked to Government Officials – Hetq – News, Articles, Investigations
21:07, September 14, 2017
Five companies that signed the largest state procurement contracts in 2016 and in the first half of 2017 are mostly linked to high-ranking government officials.
Hetq received the data about those five companies from the Ministry of Finance.
The data reveals that officials use their business connections to win major state procurement competitions.
The Defense Ministry signed five major contracts.
Flash and AMPG win several contracts
Flash and AMPG Group are among the list of companies that have signed major contracts in 2016 and in the first half of 2017.
The owners of these companies are not commonplace people. Flash belongs to Barsegh Beglaryan, a friend of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
Albert Taroyan, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Philippines in Armenia, owns AMPG Group.
Flash signed major contracts and received the largest amounts of money from the state budget in 2016 and 2017 to supply diesel fuel. In two cases, the company signed the contracts with the Ministry of Defense.
Under the contract signed in 2016, the company received 2 billion 342 million drams from the state budget and supplied the Ministry of Defense with gasoline and diesel fuel. Almost half of the contract value has been allocated for Regular diesel.
In the first half of 2017, Flash has signed a contract worth 1.864 billion drams. Under that contract, the company will again supply the Ministry of Defense with the Premium and Regular types of diesel, summer and winter diesel fuel.
This company signed a contract with the State Revenue Committee (SRC) in 2016 and in the first half of 2017 for excise stamps printed on alcoholic drinks and cigarettes.
The AMPG Group’s contract was the second largest after Flash in 2016. Last year, under a contract with the SRC, the company printed excise stamps “2017” on polymer membranes for imported and local alcoholic drinks (45 million), cigarettes (259 million) and articles subject to mandatory marking (500 million), in compliance with standards. This contract amounted to 1.891 billion drams.
In 2017, the company won a 1.411 billion AMD contract to print excise stamps “2018” for imported and local alcoholic drinks (37 million) and cigarettes (295 million), in compliance with standards.
The SRC allocated the substantial part of the amount envisaged by the contract for printing cigarette excise stamps.
Other large contracts of 2016
Last year, there were three more companies that signed large-scale contracts with government agencies and received large sums from the state budget.
Gevgrig signed a 979 million AMD contract with the Ministry of Defense to supply aviation fuel. Arsen Harutyunyan, one of the owners of Gevgrig, served as director of the Maxhur company belonging to the former Republic Party of Armenia (RPA) MP Harutyun Pambukyan. Maxhur also deals in diesel fuel sales.
Gevgrig has since filed for bankruptcy.
In 2016, Khachhar signed a contract with the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies worth 787 million drams. Under the contract, the company carried out capital repair works along the Yerevan-Sevan-Azerbaijan border – repairing the asphalt-concrete pavement, installing new metal barriers and implementing other construction works. Khachhar also signed the largest contract with the Yerevan Municipality in 2016. The owner of Khachhar is Rouben Baghdasaryan, who is linked to the RPA parliamentarian and owner of Jermouk Group, Ashot Arsenyan.
Avangard LLC signed another contract, worth 585 million AMD, with the Ministry of Defense to supply 1,200,000 kg of melted cheese to the army. This company is registered in Martouni, Artsakh. According to the data of the Artsakh State Register of Legal Entities, the company belongs to Gastello Mkrtchyan, aka Gastik. He is an employee of the Defense Ministry.
Armenia’s Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center NGO studied the public procurement contracts signed from November 22, 2015, to January 22, 2016 and found that during that period the Ministry of Defense signed eleven contracts with Avangard.
The company supplied the army with food, construction materials, utility supplies, sanitary and washing materials, electrical, radio and household equipment, ammunition supplies, garments, car spares, laundry and cleaning services.
Companies that signed largest contracts in the first half of 2017 belong to officials
As already mentioned, two out of five companies that signed the largest contracts in the first half of 2017 are Flash and AMPG Group.
In the first half of this year, the second largest contract after Flash was signed with Arpa-Sevan OJSC, that belongs to the RPA parliamentarian Hakob Hakobyan. The company has signed a contract worth 1.873 billion AMD with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to carry out major repair works on dilapidated sections of the Arpa-Sevan N 2 tunnel.
The other large contract during the first half of 2017, worth 960million AMD, was signed between the EIC Telecom Company and the Government Staff. The purpose of the contract was to organize the April 2 election process.
Under the contract, the company was obliged to carry out the video recording of the electoral process in all electoral precincts, to save the videos, and provide copies if needed. In the precincts where internet was available, they were supposed to ensure online broadcasting, introduction and maintenance of video copies. According to the State Register of Legal Entities, Yervand Simonyan is the owner of the company.
The fifth major contract of the first half of 2017 was signed by the Ministry of Defense and the Artsakh Footwear-Sewing Manufacturing Union CJSC. The aim of the $ 847 million contract is to provide footwear to the army.
AS&F Foundation Creates $2 Million Endowment for Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter
Darin Drabing, President and CEO of Forest Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries on the right
GLENDALE – For over 15 years, Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter has had the great fortune of working with Forest Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries and the AS&F Foundation. During this time, our chapter has received grants and donations totaling close to $500,000.
On April 21, Darin Drabing, President and CEO of Forest Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries, along with Pegine Grayson and Chuck Hoblitzelle of the AS&F Foundation personally visited our center and commended our chapter for the work it has done with the local youth for the last four decades. They singled out our chapter as an exemplary organization within the community and were extremely impressed by the high number of volunteers running the various programs within Ararat.
However, Drabing had bittersweet news as he told us of the dissolution of the AS&F Foundation, which was behind the many grants our chapter has received throughout the years. But he kept the good news for last: since Ararat’s values align with those of the Foundation, Drabing had a parting gift for our Chapter.
He announced the creation of a $2,000,000 endowment in Homenetmen Glendale Ararat Chapter’s name. He felt this endowment would enable the chapter to draw more donations and contributions; thus making it more sustainable and helping ensure the future of Ararat.
The Chapter Executive Board wishes to express its profound gratitude to the AS&F Foundation as well as to Forest Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries for their unwavering support and friendship throughout the years.
We feel this endowment will further secure our Chapter’s future and allow it to achieve new heights over the next decades, keeping true to our motto: “Elevate yourself and others with you.”
‘Architecture Week’ Festival to Take Place in Yerevan for the First Time
YEREVAN (Panorama.am) – Yerevan will be hosting “Architecture Week” festival for the first time in October.
“Architecture Week” is an annual international festival of architecture and urban planning that has been taking place in Prague throughout 10 years. It deals with the most extraordinary projects in architecture, urban planning, landscape and other related spheres. The festival includes lectures, a professional conference, urban walking, film screening and other activities. The festival is aimed at establishing contact between architects and the public as well as at studying architecture as an element uniting different cultures.
Armenia has participated in the Festival since 2013. It has been represented by “Urbanlab Yerevan,” “Storaket,” “Arkhkop,” “Arvest,” “Urban Unit,” “Tim Flynn,” and “A and L” architectural workshops.
This year for the first time the festival will take place in Yerevan from October 2-8th. The topic of this year’s festival is “Creating History.”
Tatevik Zakaryan, Head of the Festival, told Panorama.am that a number of projects and models from various countries will be exhibited as well as the film series “Living Architectures” by Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine. According to Zakaryan, the festival in Prague consists of several parts, which take place in different countries.
“The conceptual section has always been held in Prague, but this year it will take place in Armenia for the first time. Of course, it cannot have the same scale as in Prague, but we are working towards that,” she noted.
She said that the Prague festival this year only focuses on the Baroque style.
“The Armenian organization of Architecture Week this year concluded a contract with the festival organizers to hold its conceptual part in Armenia, since our country could not take part in the Prague exhibition due to the lack of architectural models of the Baroque era. Therefore, it was decided to hold the international part in Armenia,” she added.