13 members of ‘Armenian mafia’ arrested in Los Angeles for murder and theft of $83 million worth of goods from Amazon
Federal prosecutors in LA accuse rival Armenian organized crime groups operating out of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley of murder, kidnapping and stealing more than $83 million in Amazon.com shipments, Courthouse News Service reports.
Prosecutors charged members of the so-called Armenian Mafia with murder, attempted murder, kidnapping and torture as part of a turf war, as well as of credit card and health care fraud. Thirteen members and associates of the two groups were arrested, according to an announcement by the U.S. attorney’s office in LA. The rival factions centered around Robert Amiryan, 46, and Ara Artuni, 41, both so-called avtoritet, or authorities, who wield power in the Armenian criminal underworld through each of their own criminal organizations.
As noted, Amiryan is considered one of the most prominent Armenian organized crime figures in Los Angeles County. As such, Artuni, who has been seeking to advance his position in the Armenian criminal community, with the backing of the Mexican Mafia, has targeted Amiryan and those close to him in order to attempt to assume Amiryan’s position within the Armenian organized crime world. As mentioned, the Armenian Mafia originated in the former Soviet Union and is considered an offshoot of the Russian Mafia, according to the government. In the U.S., most Armenian Mafia leaders, members, and associates reside in LA County, which has one of the largest Armenian populations outside of Russia and Armenia. The organization purportedly often relies on Black and Hispanic street gangs, such as those affiliated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang, to do their dirty work. Artuni is also linked to the attempted murders of Amiryan and members of his group. In retaliation, according to prosecutors, Amiryan two years ago kidnapped and tortured one of Artuni’s associates to find out who had ordered the hit attempts. Artuni, according to the criminal complaint, visited the Armenian capital Yerevan in April 2024 to meet with the “thieves in law.” The Amazon cargo theft was purportedly conducted by members of Artuni’s organization. According to the criminal complaint, they set up bogus trucking businesses to contract with Amazon for transportation of merchandise to Amazon’s warehouses. However, once they have picked up the shipments, they would offload a good chunk of the cargo before they delivered the remainder at the destination facility. Artuni’s organization is also accused of running a “credit card bust-out” scheme. The defendants face statutory maximum sentences ranging from 10 years in federal prison to life imprisonment if convicted of all charges.
