LA County Armenian crime syndicate members arrested in power struggle over territory, DOJ says
Federal agents arrested 13 alleged members of rival Armenian crime syndicates locked in an apparent power struggle in Los Angeles County, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Among the more than a dozen people charged by federal prosecutors were the alleged leaders of the two factions: Ara Artuni, 41 and Robert Amiryan, 46. The years-long battle for territory allegedly resulted in multiple murder attempts and a kidnapping, according to the DOJ.
After several raids in LA County and South Florida, police arrested three other men allegedly involved in the scheme: Vahan Harutyunyan, 50, of Hollywood, Florida; Levon Arakelyan, 45, of Las Vegas; and Ivan Bojorquez, 33. Officers seized three armed cars, 14 guns and $100,000 in cash.
If convicted of all charges, the men will face maximum sentences ranging from 10 years to life in prison.
"Today's arrests reflect that my office and our law enforcement partners are committed to keeping America safe by dismantling transnational criminal organizations," said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. "Let today's enforcement action be a warning to criminals: Our communities are not your playground to engage in violence and thuggery."
Artuni and Armiryan's power struggle began in 2022, while their syndicates, which are affiliated with the transnational Russian Mafia, made LA County a center of their U.S. operations, according to the DOJ.
Federal prosecutors charged Artuni with allegedly sanctioning the attempted murder of Amiryan during the summer of 2023. Amiryan allegedly retaliated by conspiring with his members to kidnap and torture one of Artuni's associates in June 2023, according to the DOJ.
Investigators also accuse Artuni's criminal enterprise of stealing more than $83 million worth of goods from Amazon in the criminal complaint against him. According to the DOJ, the alleged scheme targeting online retailers dates back to at least 2021. Artuni's associates allegedly posed as carriers for Amazon and would steal all or part of their shipments.
"This transnational criminal organization operated with the structure and brutality of an international cartel, inflicting significant harm on public safety and causing substantial damage to legitimate commerce and supply chains," said Dwayne Angebrandt, Acting Deputy Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations.
