Judged:
1
1
1
http://bitterqueen.typepad.com/friends_of_our...
Police in Alpharetta, Georgia have arrested two Armenian nationals and are searching for another two for allegedly participating in a credit card fraud ring involving a process called "skimming" by which the infomation on the magnetic strip is retrieved with a "wedge" as the card is swiped though the machine on a transaction, and then later transferred to a counterfeit card:
"They stole somewhere between $150,000 and $200,000 that we know of from at least 150 different victims," said [Alpharetta Executive Police Officer George] Gordon. "It is easily the biggest credit card fraud scheme in the city’s history." Gordon added, "The crime operation was sophisticated, well organized and high-tech. The suspects had some of the most advanced credit card replication equipment we have come across and their duplication process was smooth and seamless. They knew this end of their business and they had to tools to pull it off."
The four men -- Karen Khalatayn, Ara Autuni, Boris Toumasian and Edmond Alexanyan -- are in the country illegally, and they moved into Alpharetta last August from Glendale, CA which is home for several members of the Armenian Mafia:
The city of Glendale, where the suspected Alpharetta criminals are from, has the largest Armenian population outside of the Republic of Armenia. Several Armenian organized crime organizations have been fingered by the Feds, who say their most prevalent crime operations involve the control of independent filling stations, where they water down fuel sold to the public and skim profits and also participate in identity theft, credit card fraud, drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping.*** "This was a well financed operation," said Gordon. APD is now guessing the suspects did not operate alone. The main theory being forwarded by the FBI is that they are foot soldiers in the Armenian mob based in Glendale, Ca. "They were very well organized," commented one law enforcement official who is not authorized to talk to the media. "We are now looking into bank accounts they controlled, and it could lead much higher up the food chain. There is no telling where this may lead. There are much bigger fish here. We don't believe they were working independently."
Last month authorities in Las Vegas, Nevada broke up a similar credit card fraud ring involving Russian and Armenian nationals many of whom also were from California.






