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California Men Charged in Bank Fraud Scheme
Two residents of Glendale, California, Artashes Darbinyan, 36, and Orbel Hakobyan, 41, were charged in a superseding indictment in connection with a bank fraud scheme involving the proceeds of a mass mailing scam targeting holders of U.S. trademarks.
The superseding indictment alleges that Darbinyan operated and controlled Trademark Compliance Center (TCC) and Trademark Compliance Office (TCO), which purported to offer trademark registration and monitoring services. However, Darbinyan did not intend to, and did not, provide these services. Instead, he sent mass solicitations offering, for a fee, trademark registration and monitoring services to holders of trademarks recently registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
To accomplish this scheme, Darbinyan used the names of other persons to open accounts for TCC and TCO at virtual office centers in the Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles areas. He also directed employees of the Washington, D.C.-area virtual office centers to forward mail addressed to TCC and TCO to the virtual office centers in the Los Angeles area.
The superseding indictment alleges that from September 2013 through September 2015, the defendants perpetrated a bank fraud scheme by passing the mass mailing scam’s proceeds through fake bank accounts, primarily at a Wells Fargo branch in Glendale. Darbinyan opened bank accounts using false identities, and Hakobyan and Darbinyan deposited the trademark holders’ payments into the Wells Fargo bank accounts.
With the assistance of Wells Fargo bank employees, the defendants transferred the funds to other accounts under Darbinyan’s control and either made cash withdrawals or purchased gold with cashier’s checks and wire transfers. Hakobyan’s separate bank fraud charge arises from allegations that he made a fraudulent withdrawal while impersonating one of the supposed account holders.
The charges and allegations in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The USPIS and IRS-CI investigated the case, and Trial Attorney William E. Johnston of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
RELATED: Savannah Cole, Kenneth Cade Charged in Wichita Armed Robberies
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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