Co-Leader of COVID-19 Loan Fraud Ring Extradited from Montenegro to Begin Serving Prison Sentence | OPA

Co-Leader of COVID-19 Loan Fraud Ring Extradited from Montenegro to Begin Serving Prison Sentence | OPA

A California girl who fled to Montenegro to keep away from serving a lengthy prison sentence has been returned to the United States soon after investing approximately one calendar year as a fugitive.

Tamara Dadyan, 43, of Encino, was extradited by Montenegro and arrived in Los Angeles Monday night. She is envisioned to surface this afternoon in the U.S. District Courtroom in Los Angeles.

According to court docket documents, Dadyan was a member of a Los Angeles-based fraud ring who engaged in a scheme to fraudulently acquire much more than $20 million in Paycheck Defense Program (PPP) and Economic Harm Disaster Financial loan (EIDL) COVID-19 reduction cash. Dadyan and her co-conspirators applied dozens of pretend, stolen, or artificial identities – such as names belonging to aged or deceased folks and foreign trade learners who briefly frequented the United States a long time in the past and never ever returned – to submit fraudulent purposes for approximately 150 PPP and EIDL loans.

In aid of the fraudulent bank loan purposes, Dadyan and her co-conspirators also submitted phony and fictitious paperwork to loan companies and the Tiny Organization Administration (SBA), which includes pretend identity files, tax files, and payroll records. Dadyan and her co-conspirators then used the fraudulently attained resources as down payments on three luxury homes in California. They also used the funds to buy gold coins, diamonds, jewellery, luxury watches, designer handbags, cryptocurrency, securities, and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

In June 2021, Dadyan pleaded responsible to a person rely of conspiracy to dedicate wire fraud and financial institution fraud, 1 count of conspiracy to dedicate dollars laundering, and just one count of aggravated identity theft. She was sentenced in December 2021 to 10 several years and 10 months in prison.

In January 2022, Dadyan fled the United States. U.S. authorities decided Dadyan experienced fled to Montenegro wherever she joined Richard Ayvazyan and Marietta Terabelian, two other individuals in the scheme and conspiracy who also fled immediately after their convictions. Ayvazyan and Terabelian, who have been respectively sentenced to 17 decades and 6 yrs in jail, ended up extradited to the United States from Montenegro in November 2022. 

Assistant Lawyer General Kenneth A. Well mannered, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division U.S. Lawyer Martin Estrada for the Central District of California Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Felony Investigative Division Particular Agent in Demand Tyler Hatcher of the IRS Legal Investigation (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Industry Business office Exclusive Agent in Charge Weston King of the SBA Office environment of Inspector Basic (SBA-OIG), Western Location and Exclusive Agent in Demand Jay N. Johnson of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Business office of Inspector Common (FHFA-OIG), Western Area, built the announcement.

The Governing administration of Montenegro, which includes the Ministry of Justice, delivered major aid in the extradition of Dadyan to the United States. The Justice Department’s Business of International Affairs also offered sizeable help in securing the arrest and extradition of Dadyan.

The FBI Los Angeles Subject Office environment, IRS-CI, SBA-OIG, and FHFA-OIG investigated the circumstance. The U.S. Marshals Provider transported Dadyan from Montenegro to the United States.

Trial Lawyer Christopher Fenton of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Part and Assistant U.S. Lawyers Brian Faerstein and Scott Paetty for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Legal professional Dan Boyle for the Central District of California is managing forfeiture. Demo Lawyer Goran Krnaich and Intercontinental Affairs Specialist Marina Shimarova of the Justice Department’s Place of work of Global Affairs handled the extraditions with help from Assistant U.S. Attorney John Lulejian for the Central District of California.

The Fraud Area potential customers the Legal Division’s prosecution of fraud techniques that exploit the PPP. Because the inception of the CARES Act, the Fraud Section has prosecuted more than 200 defendants in a lot more than 130 felony scenarios and has seized more than $78 million in funds proceeds derived from fraudulently received PPP funds, as well as a lot of true estate houses and luxury items obtained with this sort of proceeds. Much more data can be discovered at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/ppp-fraud.

In Could 2021, the Lawyer Basic recognized the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Process Power to marshal the means of the Department of Justice in partnership with companies across federal government to greatly enhance attempts to beat and protect against pandemic-linked fraud. The Job Power bolsters attempts to look into and prosecute the most culpable domestic and global criminal actors and assists organizations tasked with administering reduction courses to protect against fraud by augmenting and incorporating present coordination mechanisms, determining resources and tactics to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing facts and insights attained from prior enforcement efforts. For a lot more information and facts on the department’s response to the pandemic, be sure to visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Any one with facts about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Section of Justice’s Nationwide Centre for Catastrophe Fraud (NCDF) Hotline by means of the NCDF Net Complaint Variety at https://www.justice.gov/catastrophe-fraud/ncdf-catastrophe-criticism-sort.