Financial Crime World

Title: Two Armenian Men Sentenced for Multi-Year Credit Card Fraud Scheme, “Pure Armenian Blood”

New York, NY - U.S. Attorney Damian Williams announced on Tuesday, October 31, 2023, the sentences for Two Armenian men, Narek Marutyan and Saro Mouradian, involved in the multi-year “Pure Armenian Blood” (P.A.B.) credit card fraud scheme.

Narek Marutyan, the Leader

  • Sentencing: Six years in prison, $4.259 million in restitution and forfeiture.
  • Previous Plea: Marutyan had previously pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy charges on June 12, 2023.

Saro Mouradian, Business Owner

  • Sentencing: Ten months in prison, $517,502 in restitution, $50,190 in forfeiture.
  • Role: Owner of Florida-based businesses used in the fraud.

Background of the Criminal Enterprise

  • Enterprise: Pure Armenian Blood was an organized criminal group under the direction of an unindicted co-conspirator, a “Thief-in-Law” or “vor.”
  • Criminal Activities: Members and associates of P.A.B. involved in identity theft, access device fraud, and credit card fraud.
  • Business Fronts: Legitimately operated businesses were used as fronts for fraudulent activities.

Role of Marutyan and Mouradian

Narek Marutyan

  • New York Leader: Orchestrated illicit activities in New York City.
  • Activities: Use of stolen personal identifying information, opening and exhausting fraudulent lines of credit, purchasing with counterfeit credit cards, and falsifying documents to clean credit of account holders.

Saro Mouradian

  • Business Owner: Owned and operated two businesses used by P.A.B. for credit card fraud.
  • Activities: Ran sham charges without providing goods or services, and provided personal identifying information to P.A.B. members for new lines of credit.

Investigation and Agencies Involved

  • Lead Agency: New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Eurasian Organized Crime Squad.
  • Additional Assistance: FBI’s New Jersey, Los Angeles, and Miami offices, Homeland Security Investigations, New York City Police Department, United States Postal Inspection Service, and United States Customs and Border Protection.

Previous Convictions

  • Other Co-Defendants: Five other co-defendants have already pled guilty and have been sentenced, and one other defendant has pled guilty but has not yet been sentenced.

Conclusion

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, which combats high-level criminal organizations using a multi-agency approach. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated, “This sentence reaffirms our commitment to combating identity theft and organized crime.”