WASHINGTON: The US jury sentenced four California citizens guilty because the scheme to cheatly obtained USD 18 million in the payment of Covid-19 assistance for non-existent businesses, said the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday.
“After an eight-day trial, Richard Ayvazyan, his wife Marietta ladied, 37, and his brother Artur Ayvazyan, 41, all Encino, each of which was found guilty of a count of conspiracy to commit fraud and wire fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud, eight counts of bank fraud , and a count of conspiracies to do money laundering.
Richard Ayvazyan was also found guilty of two acquisition of identity theft and Artur Ayvazyan was found guilty of a count of identity theft that was exacerbated, “The Department of Justice said in a press release.
A fourth defendant, Vahe Dadyan, was found guilty of a count of conspiracies to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, six wire fraud charges, three charges of bank fraud, a count of conspiracy to do money laundering, and one count of money laundering, and one count of money laundering , The release said.
The defendants used loan payments totaling more than USD 18 million to buy luxury homes, gold coins, diamonds, luxury watches, designer bags, and Harley-Davidson motorbikes, added releases.
The evidence presented at the trial shows the defendant used a false identity, stolen, or synthetic to submit fraud application for loans to small business administration (SBA), including false identity documents, tax documents, and salary records to carry out the scheme, said the word release.
The jury also found the defendant had to lose a bank account, the item was purchased and around USD 450,000 in cash, according to the release.
The sentence is scheduled for September 13.