Couple disappears after stealing millions in aid for covid-19

(CNN) -

Richard Ayvazyan and his wife, Marietta Terabelian, were facing jail for their role in a massive covid-19 aid fraud scheme when their electronic tracking bracelets were cut off and they fled their California home, abandoning her three teenage children.

The couple left a typewritten note for the children, ages 13, 15 and 16.

"Someday we will get back together," he said, according to Ayvazyan's lawyer.

"This is not a farewell, but a brief separation."

This was at the end of August.

Almost three months later, and five months after their convictions in June, the couple still have not appeared.

The FBI is looking for them.

That didn't stop a judge this week from sentencing Ayvazyan, 43, and Terabelian, 37, in absentia, to 17 and six years in prison, respectively.

Prosecutors said the couple and others carried out a plan to steal more than $ 20 million in aid funds earmarked for small businesses during the pandemic.

"The defendants used the Covid-19 crisis to steal millions of dollars in much-needed government aid to individuals and businesses suffering the economic effects of the worst pandemic in a century," said US Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison.

Another federal prosecutor said his case was the first of its kind in the country to go to trial.

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Stolen money fueled a lavish lifestyle

The couple and Ayvazyan's brother, Artur Ayvazyan, 41, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in a trial in June.

Richard Ayvazyan and his brother were also convicted of aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, they used false or stolen identities, including names of deceased individuals and foreign exchange students who briefly visited the U.S. years ago, to submit fraudulent applications for approximately 150 federal aid loans. the pandemic for fictitious businesses in the San Fernando Valley.

To support the fraudulent loan applications, they presented false identity documents along with falsified tax forms and payroll records to lenders and the Small Business Administration, federal prosecutors said.

The couple, along with Ayvazyan's brother and five co-conspirators, used the money to buy mansions in three Southern California cities: Tarzana, Glendale and Palm Desert, gold coins, diamonds, furniture, luxury watches and a Harley motorcycle. Davidson, prosecutors said.

Richard Ayvazyan, from Tarzana, California, seen outside court during his trial in June.

He was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for fraudulent applications for emergency government loans during the pandemic.

When convicted, they had to give up three houses and luxury items, as well as bank accounts and about $ 450,000 in cash.

"When our nation was at its most vulnerable, these individuals thought only of lining their pockets," said Ryan L. Korner, special agent with the IRS Office of Criminal Investigation, after this week's sentencing.

"These sentences reflect the seriousness of these crimes."

It is unclear if Richard Ayvazyan was the mastermind behind the scheme, but of the eight people convicted so far, he was by far the longest serving sentence: 17 years.

No one was sentenced to more than six years.

His brother Artur Ayvazyan received five years.

In Monday's sentencing, US District Judge Stephen V. Wilson called Richard Ayvazyan an "endemic, cold-hearted, lawless fraudster" and someone who "views fraud as an achievement."

The couple's three children were in the courtroom to witness the sentencing of their parents and uncle.

• Secret Service recovers $ 2 billion in illicitly obtained covid-19 relief funds

Ayvazyan's lawyer says there is more behind

The whereabouts of Richard Ayvazyan and Marietta Terabelian remain unknown.

The FBI is offering a $ 20,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Ashwin J. Ram, a lawyer for the older Ayvazyan, said prosecutors painted an exaggerated picture of his client's involvement.

"You have to keep in mind that the government has repeatedly touted that this is a $ 18 million or $ 20 million case, depending on the day and who you are talking about," Ram told CNN.

"At the sentencing hearing, however, the court found that Richard Ayvazyan is only responsible for an amount of losses in the range of US $ 1.5 million. That is very far from the theory of the case that the government has."

Ram said he has not spoken to Ayvazyan since he fled in August.

You believe that if your client had been in court, he would have explained his side of the story.

"It was regrettable that Mr. Ayvazyan was not present to paint the whole picture for the court," he said.

"That would have shed light on his background and experience, including his role as a community leader, providential investor, father and husband."

Marietta Terabelian, right, seen in June, was sentenced to six years in prison for conspiracy to commit fraud and other federal crimes.

Ram also said the couple's family believes they may have been abducted by other co-conspirators.

"He (Ayvazyan) was accused of conspiring with dozens of people, and only a few have been charged. So if he really is the ringleader, someone may want to silence him."

Ram added that, in addition to the message to their children, the couple's farewell note also referred to the threats they face: "something like leaving to avoid the danger it poses to the family."

Ram asked the government to investigate.

Terabelian's attorney, Ryan Fraser, described her to CNN as "a loving mother and devoted wife who has tirelessly supported not only her three children, but also their parents, mother-in-law and sister."

He added that "Judge Wilson recognized this in his sentence, imposing significantly less than a third of the time that the prosecutors requested in their resolution."

Fraser declined to answer further questions about his client or the fraudulent loan plot.

Information about Artur Ayvazyan's lawyer was not immediately available.

• More Americans Fall Into Poverty After Covid-19 Subsidy Programs End

The children's guardians hoped to send them to Armenia

The couple's three children are in the care of their grandmothers and a court-appointed guardian, Ram said.

Ram claims that her caregivers recently submitted an emergency application for passports so they can travel to Armenia, where they have relatives.

The guardians had hoped to send the children to Armenia to avoid the media circus surrounding their parents' sentencing, but the passports were not approved, he said.

Ram also said that he had objected to the court sentencing Richard Ayvazyan and Terabelian in absentia, adding that he wanted the hearing delayed until they appeared.

Five other South Californians, including Artur Ayvazyan's wife, have pleaded guilty to various charges in the case.

Four of them have been sentenced to terms ranging from probation to six years in prison.

Artur Ayvazyan's wife will be sentenced on December 6, but the judge has yet to rule on the request to withdraw her guilty plea.

Covid-19 Fraud