SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Garik Voskanyan, 34, of Sacramento, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Garland E. Burrell, Jr. to 15 months in prison for bank fraud, United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, in May 2013, Voskanyan conspired with his
co-defendant, Karapet Damaryan, and others to steal the identity of an innocent bank account holder in order to gain control over the victim’s bank account. The conspirators then fraudulently wired $141,395 out of the victim’s account to a gold coin and bullion store, where Voskanyan and his co-defendant attempted to use the stolen funds to purchase nearly 100 one-ounce gold coins. The fraud was detected when the victim checked his bank account on the day the fraudulent wire was attempted. Voskanyan and Damaryan were arrested outside the gold store when they arrived to pick up the gold.
This case was the product of an investigation by the United States Secret Service and the Placer County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew G. Morris and Amy Schuller Hitchcock prosecuted the case.
Co-defendant Damaryan pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and bank fraud on January 20, 2017, and is set to be sentenced on October 27, 2017.
--DOJ Eastern District of California