Seventy four reputed members of an international gang called Armenian Power were arrested in a huge crackdown on organised crime on Wednesday.
Authorities said the group allegedly netted $20million through kidnapping, extortion, bank fraud and narcotics trafficking and that another 25 members are currently being hunted.
Among the accusations are that Armenian Power members, who are said to have ties with high-level crime figures in eastern Europe, put skimming devices at the cash registers in the discount 99 Cents Only stores and stole customers’ information to create fake credit card accounts.
Find him: FBI special agent John V. Gillies, holds up a photo of fugitive Armen Mkhitaryan, aka Ashot, during a news conference to announce the arrests of more than 70 members of the gang Armenian Power
Managers at stores alerted authorities when they learned of the scheme, which allegedly netted $2 million for the gang.
U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr said: ‘The indictments targeting Armenian Power provide a window into a group that appears willing to do anything to generate a profit.’
Glendale is the centre of the Armenian community in the U.S. but authorities also charged more than a dozen individuals from other states.
Facing charges: Mugshots released by the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force of some of the fugitives allegedly belonging to the largely Californian-based Armenian Power gang
Mr Birotte said some members of the gang are accused of bribing bank employees in Orange County to gather information that allowed them to take over accounts and steal at least $10 million. The group’s criminal enterprises in Los Angeles County netted another $10 million.
He added that the gang uses senior associates nicknamed ‘thieves in-law’ who help coordinate Armenian Power’s activities in America with actions by criminal groups in Russia, Georgia and Armenia.
Armenian Power is also broken down into cells with their own leaders, Mr Birotte said. Members have nicknames like ‘Capone,’ ‘Stomper,’ ‘Casper’ and ‘Thick Neck.’
In all, the crime group is believed to have more than 200 members.
Wanted: Alleged gang members Azizaga Salimov (left) and Armen Mkhitaryan
The group start as a street gang in East Hollywood, California, in the 1980s, identifying themselves with tattoos, graffiti and gang clothing, but the organization quickly became more concerned with racketeering than controlling ‘turf.’
Also known as AP-13, Armenian Power has close ties with the prison gang Mexican Mafia, which controls much of the narcotics distribution in California’s prisons, and has worked with African-American street gangs.
About 800 law enforcement officers were involved in the swoops on Wednesday, code-named ‘Operation Power Outage.’
The charges came after a two-year investigation by Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force.
Mr Birotte said: ‘This is a significant step in disrupting this organization.
‘These types of criminal organizations – through the use of extortions, kidnappings and other violent acts – have demonstrated a willingness to prey upon members of their own community.’
In one alleged kidnapping, several Armenian Power members forced a man to pay ransom by taking him to an auto body shop belonging to a group member and then threatening him with violence.
In an alleged extortion scheme lasting months, the victim and his family were forced to make repeated payments under threats, authorities said.
Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said: ‘The department has undertaken the largest one-day takedown of La Cosa Nostra; a coordinated national effort against street gangs; and today, taken action against Armenian Power and others with ties to international organized crime.’
On the case: From left, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, FBI Assistant Director Steven Martinez and U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte
In an alleged extortion scheme lasting months, the victim and his family were forced to make repeated payments under threats, authorities said.
Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said: ‘The department has undertaken the largest one-day takedown of La Cosa Nostra; a coordinated national effort against street gangs; and today, taken action against Armenian Power and others with ties to international organized crime.’
John V. Gillies, special agent in charge of the FBI Miami field office, added: ‘This is the largest national take down of Eurasian organized crime.
‘Today’s significance is not just from the sheer number of arrests, but from disrupting their criminal influence in our community.’
Significant steps: Law enforcement officials Lanny Breuer (left) and Andre Birotte discuss Operation Power Outage
