Artashes Darbinyan, Mail Fraud, California 2022

A Southern California man who masterminded a $1.66 million mass-mailing scam targeting trademark applicants pleaded guilty today to charges of mail fraud and money laundering, and his associate pleaded guilty to helping launder the scam's proceeds.

LOS ANGELES - Artashes Darbinyan, 37, of Glendale, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments before U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson.

Orbel Hakobyan, 42, also of Glendale, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments before Judge Wilson.

Judge Wilson is scheduled to sentencing both defendants on June 19.

As part of his guilty plea, Darbinyan admitted that he ran a mass-mailing scam through companies called Trademark Compliance Center (TCC) and Trademark Compliance Office (TCO). The scam involved fraudulent offers of a service in which TCC and TCO promised to monitor an applicant's trademark for infringing marks and to register the trademark with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which offers a real service that screens imports for possibly infringing trademarks. The offers were made via mail solicitations to applicants for U.S. trademarks for $385. Darbinyan never registered, nor ever intended to register, any of the trademarks with CBP for the customers who paid the fee.

Darbinyan also admitted to concealing his control over the scam through elaborate measures in which he illegally used the identities of other people to open accounts at virtual office centers in the Washington, D.C., area, which received and then forwarded victims' payments to other virtual office centers in the Los Angeles area. Using those same illicit identities, Darbinyan then opened bank accounts at Wells Fargo through which he laundered the proceeds of the scam. To further avoid detection, Darbinyan paid virtual office fees with money orders; used bogus email accounts, which he would only log into using prepaid wireless modems; and regularly changed cell phone numbers.

'These defendants preyed upon American businesses interested in protecting their intellectual property,' said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. 'In addition to the underlying fraud, this case involved identity theft and money laundering, but, despite these efforts to conceal their activity, these defendants now face federal prison time for their crimes.'

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/california-man-pleads-guilty-perpetrating-trademark-scam-and-money-laundering