Sacramento – A Rancho Cordova man last week was indicted on charges of credit card fraud and identity theft, who at the time of his arrest had hundreds of names and stolen credit card numbers in his possession.
U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Armenak Avagyan, 28, of Rancho Cordova was arrested Wednesday, April 20th, after being charged in a five-count indictment for using, possessing and trafficking of counterfeit and fraudulent credit cards, as well as identity theft.
The indictment alleges that from 2009 to 2011, Avagyan engaged in a wide-ranging scheme to steal credit card information using “Skimmers” installed in gas station pumps to create counterfeit credit cards using stolen information. Those counterfeit cards were then used to charge the victims’ credit card accounts for expensive items bought by Avagyan and others in the Sacramento area. Wagner said that skimming “device making equipment found on Avagyan and in his house contained hundreds of names and stolen credit card numbers.”
Avagyan was arrested last Wednesday (April 20) and pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman. Avagyan remains in custody and is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on May 5th.
The case was the result of extensive investigation by El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department, Rocklin Police Department, and agents from the Secret Service and FBI. U.S. Attorney Matthew Morris is prosecuting the case.
If convicted on all counts, the maximum statutory penalty is 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, with an additional two-year consecutive sentence for identity theft.
Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner said Monday that there was no indication that the case had any link to some 40 incidents of credit card theft reported last week by the Amador County Sheriff’s Office and Jackson Police Department. Wegner said the ACSO will be looking into any possible link to the case.
In the Amador County cases, Wegner in mid-April said Sheriff’s Detectives are conducting additional investigation into local venders and businesses “which have a nexus to the accounts which have been compromised. The identity of the businesses will not be released to protect the integrity of the investigation as well as to protect those venders from unsubstantiated allegations which would negatively impact their business.”
Wegner said the majority of fraudulent charges to the compromised accounts in Amador County had occurred in England, Canada, Georgia and Colorado. Accounts that have been compromised have been from four local banks or financial institutions. All four of the institutions have been cooperative with the investigation.
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