Three who fled California in $20 million COVID fraud case caught in Europe, feds say

Three family members who went on the run to avoid prison in a $20 million COVID-19 fraud scheme have been arrested in Europe, federal authorities told news sources.

The U.S. Department of Justice is working to secure their extradition from Montenegro, spokesperson Nicole Navas Oxman told the Los Angeles Times.

Two had been on the run for six months.

Richard Ayvazyan, 43, and his wife, Marietta Terabelian, 37, disappeared in August ahead of their sentencing hearing, McClatchy News reported.

Ayvazyan and Terabelian, who later received 17 years and six years in prison, respectively, cut off their ankle monitors and fled their home in Tarzana, California, FBI officials said.

Ayvazyan’s sister-in-law, Tamara Dadyan, 42, of Encino, California, failed to report to begin serving her prison sentence in February and could not be found, McClatchy News reported.

The scammers fraudulently obtained more than $20 million in Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds intended for COVID-19 relief, prosecutors said.

The fraud ring involved eight people, all related to one another, officials said. They used fake or stolen identities to apply for 150 loans and used the money to buy luxurious homes in three California cities, along with gold coins, diamonds, jewelry, luxury watches, imported furnishings, designer handbags and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 8:28 AM with the headline "Three who fled California in $20 million COVID fraud case caught in Europe, feds say."