Print
E-mail
Share
digg
Newsvine
Facebook
Stumble
Technorati
reddit
Fark
twitterCRIME:
15 charged in federal credit card investigation
Authorities trace scams to Eurasian crime organization
Justin M. Bowen
Press conference at the Lloyd D. George United States Courthouse in Las Vegas is held in regards to the two-year long investigation of federal credit card fraud and identity theft crimes.
Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008 | 4:15 p.m.
Press conference at the Lloyd D. George United States Courthouse in Las Vegas is held in regards to the two-year long investigation of federal credit card fraud and identity theft crimes.
Press conference at the Lloyd D. George United States Courthouse in Las Vegas is held in regards to the two-year long investigation of federal credit card fraud and identity theft crimes.
Local and federal authorities announced they have charged 15 persons with federal credit card fraud and identity crimes resulting in victim losses of $1.5 million throughout the Las Vegas Valley.
Thirteen defendants were arrested as of this morning and authorities said the remainder of the arrest will be made by the end of Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Greg Brower said.
The defendants are charged in five separate federal indictments, which were returned on Nov. 18. The indictments allege that the defendants were stealing customer credit and debit card information from local businesses and manufacturing counterfeit cards used to obtain hundreds or thousands of dollars from businesses. Authorities have estimated that 1,000 credit and debit cards were compromised.
The defendants were arrested in the Las Vegas and Los Angeles areas by members of a Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force following a two-year investigation. Brower would not comment on which countries the defendants were from.
The task force was formed more than two years ago in response to the growing presence of Eurasian organized crime in the southwestern U.S., particularly Las Vegas.
The defendants named in the indictments are Alen Torosyan, Tigran Saponjyan, Paulette Vartan, Arytom Matevosyan, Mikayel Akopyan, Gergana Hristova, Gor Krkhyan, Arman Palikyan, Hagob Palikyan, Armen Ambartsumyan, Vakhtang Gasparian and Krystalyn Northwick. All have been arrested but Gasparian.
Artur Ambartsumyan has been charged in a criminal complaint and one other defendant has been charged in a sealed indictment.
Brower said the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be looking into the status of each individual.
The defendants used a process called “skimming” where individuals steal the magnetic information placed on the rear of cards using a “wedge." The defendants used this type of skimming equipment at businesses to capture credit and debit card information and personal identification numbers, Bower said. The "wedge" would steal the information from a credit card while it was swiped through a credit card machine for a transaction, he said. Authorities believe the businesses were not involved in the scam, he said.
“These indictment should sent two messages: First, to all of us who use such cards, be very careful…The second message is for those who are committing these crimes. Be warned that the very considerable resources of the FBI, Secret Service and local police departments are increasingly becoming devoting to investigating this type of crime,” Brower said.
Most of the defendants were scheduled to appear before a U.S. Magistrate judge at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday.
Discussion: 4 comments so far…
Post a comment
- Most Read
- Discussed
- Most E-mailed
- Police: 3 arrested in officer’s death have gang ties
- Corrections officer with Metro killed in U.S. 95 crash
- System fails to catch contractor’s family tie with county
- Where to watch UFC 106
- Fontainebleau contractors say sales process is flawed
- UNLV and Southern Illinois will be guarded tonight
- Station Casinos, lenders agree to rent decrease at 4 properties
- SEC sues former gaming exec for alleged insider trading
- Findlay guard Joseph scores 33, talks about UNLV
- Bishop Gorman takes Sunset Region title in win over Cimarron
Blogs
The Kats Report
For props, Lewis Black needs only his manic delivery and torrid material (3 Comments)
Elsewhere
Sands China raises $2.5 billion in Hong Kong IPO (1 Comment)
Marquardt v. Sonnen scheduled for UFC 109
Bloggity, Bloggity, Bloggity
Will a fourth consecutive title by Jimmie Johnson be good or bad for NASCAR? (3 Comments)
Top Chef: Las Vegas
The Jet Stream: And then there were four
Top Chef Episode 12: On keeping it simple
Miech Again
Chilly start for Chace, but Stanback says he'll warm up (2 Comments)
- Live chat
- Tuesday, noon PST
- Chat with Krista Creelman
- Problem Gambling Center executive director Krista Creelman will answer questions about gambling addiction from Las Vegas Sun readers from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. ... Submit question
Calendar »
- 22 Sun
- 23 Mon
- 24 Tue
- 25 Wed
- 26 Thu
-
The Four Tops at The Orleans Showroom
Orleans Hotel-Casino
-
Football specials at Diablo's
Diablos Cantina
-
Simon Says Brunch at Simon
Palms Place Hotel & Spa
The Sun
Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
The defendants have interesting surnames. What are they Russian?
From this story: "Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force " Eurasia is the land of mass of Europe and Asia. Many people specifically refer to Eurasia as those countries that either border or are near the border where Asia and Europe met.
LVRJ broke this story yesterday.
In today's LVRJ, it said: "The source said those arrested Monday belonged to several organized crime groups from countries such as Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia and Albania."
Armenians involved in fraud? No! Never.
Hefty jail terms at Guantanamo Bay, followed by deportation of the carcasses.
Another example of why we need to seal the borders and start protecting the welfare of the American people. We don't need any immigrants right now, legal or otherwise, as long as we have unemployment amongst our own.