California Authorities Dismantle Armenian Organized Crime Syndicate

In a major crackdown, California authorities have arrested 13 alleged members and associates of Armenian organized crime syndicates. The defendants are charged in five federal complaints with a series of crimes, including attempted murder, kidnapping, tens of millions of dollars’ worth of thefts of online retailer shipments, and illegal firearm possession.

Among the defendants charged are Ara Artuni, 41, of Porter Ranch, who is charged with attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and a rival, Robert Amiryan, 46, of Hollywood, who is charged with kidnapping.

The defendants arrested today in California are expected to make their initial appearances this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Vahan Harutyunyan, 49, of Hollywood, Florida, made his initial appearance earlier today in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and was ordered detained. Two of the remaining defendants, Levon Arakelyan, 45, of Las Vegas, and Ivan Bojorquez, 33, of Gardena, are presently detained in state custody on unrelated matters.

Law enforcement is still seeking one defendant and seized approximately $100,000 in cash, three armored vehicles, and 14 firearms during today’s operation.

According to affidavits filed with the criminal complaints, Armenian Organized Crime, a Russian mafia-affiliated transnational criminal organization, has made Los Angeles County a center of U.S. operations. Since 2022, two local leaders within the organization, also known as avtoritet, which in Russian means “authority,” allegedly have engaged in a power struggle for control in their territory, resulting in multiple murder attempts and a kidnapping.

Artuni, an avtoritet, is charged with ordering the attempted murder of Amiryan during the summer of 2023. In retaliation, Amiryan, also an avtoritet, allegedly conspired with members of his own criminal organization to kidnap and torture one of Artuni’s associates in June 2023.

In addition to attempted murder, Artuni and his criminal enterprise has, since at least 2021, allegedly committed additional crimes, including bank fraud, wire fraud, and “cargo theft” targeting online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. Artuni Enterprise members and associates enrolled with Amazon as carriers, contracted for trucking routes, and then, while transporting the goods, diverged from the route and stole all or part of the shipment. To date, the Artuni Enterprise has allegedly stolen goods from Amazon worth more than $83 million, according to estimates provided by Amazon. The Artuni Enterprise also ran a “credit card bust-out” scheme in which they charged various credit cards to a sham business then drained the business account before the credit card companies could collect the to-be disputed funds.

“Today’s arrests reflect that my office and our law enforcement partners are committed to keeping America safe by dismantling transnational criminal organizations,” said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Let today’s enforcement action be a warning to criminals: Our communities are not your playground to engage in violence and thuggery.”

This transnational criminal organization operated with the structure and brutality of an international cartel, inflicting significant harm on public safety and causing substantial damage to legitimate commerce and supply chains,” said HSI Los Angeles Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge Dwayne Angebrandt. “Dismantling transnational criminal organizations is at the core of HSI’s mission, and through close collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we are holding these perpetrators accountable and disrupting their criminal enterprise at every level.”

Our commitment to public safety is strengthened through collaboration,” said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. “By working hand-in-hand with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we are united in our mission to identify and bring to justice those who engage in violent and destructive activities that harm our communities.”

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