Albert Yagubyan, Money Laundering, California 2023

LOS ANGELES – The former manager of a Wells Fargo Bank branch in Glendale has been arrested and arraigned on federal charges that allege he was part of a scheme to launder the proceeds of a mass mailing scam targeting holders of U.S. trademarks.

Albert Yagubyan, 36, of Burbank, pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon to charges contained in a second superseding indictment filed on July 14. The indictment charges Yagubyan with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, four counts of concealment money laundering, one count of false bank entries and one count of witness tampering.

A trial in the case was scheduled for September 13. Artashes Darbinyan, 36, of Glendale; and Orbel Hakobyan, 41, also of Glendale, were previously charged in this case. Darbinyan and Hakobyan are charged in the second superseding indictment with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Hakobyan is also charged with three counts of concealment money laundering.

Darbinyan is charged with four counts of mail fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft, five counts of concealment money laundering and one count of bank fraud.

“The new defendant added in this case allegedly used his position of trust at a large financial institution to further a scheme that bilked trademark holders,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “In addition, the co-schemers used stolen identities to further mask this scheme. Activities such as this scheme threaten the stability of financial transactions upon which businesses depend.”

According to the second superseding indictment, Yagubyan was the manager of a Wells Fargo branch in Glendale until October 2015. The indictment alleges that from 2013 to 2015, Yagubyan allowed Darbinyan and Hakobyan to open bogus bank accounts at the Wells Fargo branch through which proceeds of the trademark scam could be laundered in exchange for a share of the proceeds.

The indictment unsealed yesterday alleges that with Yagubyan’s assistance, Darbinyan and Hakobyan were able to launder $1.29 million into gold and cash through Wells Fargo.

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