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SUPERMARKET FRAUD DEFENDANT OKS PLEA DEAL
By Paul Grimaldi
Journal Staff Writer
Providence Journal , RI
May 18 2007
One of the four defendants in the Stop & Shop fraud case has agreed
to plead guilty to two federal charges in connection with incidents
that siphoned more than $100,000 from the supermarket's customers in
Rhode Island.
Arutyun Shatarevyan, 20, of Los Angeles, faces charges of conspiracy to
commit fraud and aggravated identity theft as a result of an agreement
he signed Monday, according to federal court documents. He faces up to
five years in prison on the first charge and at least two more years
in prison on the second charge, as well as fines of up to $250,000
on each charge.
Shatarevyan would remain on probation for at least three years after
his release from prison, if a judge approves the agreement.
No court date has been set, according a spokesman for the
U.S. Attorney's office.
While Shatarevyan has moved to close out the case against him,
one of his codefendants has hired a prominent California lawyer,
according to documents on file with U.S. District Court in Providence.
Mark J. Geragos, who has defended celebrities Michael Jackson and
Winona Ryder, as well as Susan McDougal - the Clinton associate
involved in the Whitewater scandal - has taken up the case of Arman
Ter-Esayan, 22, of Valley Glen, Calif.
State and Coventry police arrested Ter-Esayan, Shatarevyan and two
others Feb. 26 at the Stop & Shop on Tiogue Avenue in Coventry where,
federal and state authorities say, the men had gone to retrieve a
checkout lane PIN pad rigged to capture shoppers' financial-account
information.
Videotape evidence links the men to 1,100 account thefts at Stop &
Shops in Providence, Cranston and Coventry, and ultimately, to ATM
withdrawals made in California, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
The men removed or tried to remove original pin pads from at least
six stores in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The men were living in California before they flew to Rhode Island
in early February, according to an affidavit signed by Craig Marech,
a Secret Service agent. Also arrested were: Mikael Stepanian, 28,
of Studio City; and Gevork Baltadjian, 20, of Winnetka.
In March, a federal judge granted a government request to hold the
four suspects until at least June 1 before formally charging them.
They each face two federal charges: credit-card fraud and aggravated
identity theft. They face up to five years in prison on the first
charge and a mandatory two-year sentence on the second charge.
The men also face separate state charges in the case: computer fraud,
theft using a computer and conspiracy - all felonies; and computer
trespass - a misdemeanor.
The four suspects face deportation if they're convicted of a federal
crime, according to federal officials.
Ter-Esayan arrived in the United States from Armenia in 2004. The
other three - Stepanian, Baltadjian and Shatarevyan - arrived in the
United States from Armenia in 1993. But they couldn't prove they were
employed since their arrival in this country.
On Wednesday, Ter-Esayan's court-appointed attorney withdrew from
the federal case as the Californian apparently secured the services
of Geragos. The prominent West Coast lawyer will be joined by a
Providence lawyer, John E. MacDonald, of Larochelle & MacDonald.
Geragos replaces Raipher Pellegrino, a Springfield, Mass., lawyer
appointed to represent Ter-Esayan when the case began.
An Armenian-American, Geragos is part of a team of lawyers in a class
action case against two German banks brought by descendants of victims
of the Armenian genocide.
He is also a board member of an Armenian charity group.
By Paul Grimaldi
Journal Staff Writer
Providence Journal , RI
May 18 2007
One of the four defendants in the Stop & Shop fraud case has agreed
to plead guilty to two federal charges in connection with incidents
that siphoned more than $100,000 from the supermarket's customers in
Rhode Island.
Arutyun Shatarevyan, 20, of Los Angeles, faces charges of conspiracy to
commit fraud and aggravated identity theft as a result of an agreement
he signed Monday, according to federal court documents. He faces up to
five years in prison on the first charge and at least two more years
in prison on the second charge, as well as fines of up to $250,000
on each charge.
Shatarevyan would remain on probation for at least three years after
his release from prison, if a judge approves the agreement.
No court date has been set, according a spokesman for the
U.S. Attorney's office.
While Shatarevyan has moved to close out the case against him,
one of his codefendants has hired a prominent California lawyer,
according to documents on file with U.S. District Court in Providence.
Mark J. Geragos, who has defended celebrities Michael Jackson and
Winona Ryder, as well as Susan McDougal - the Clinton associate
involved in the Whitewater scandal - has taken up the case of Arman
Ter-Esayan, 22, of Valley Glen, Calif.
State and Coventry police arrested Ter-Esayan, Shatarevyan and two
others Feb. 26 at the Stop & Shop on Tiogue Avenue in Coventry where,
federal and state authorities say, the men had gone to retrieve a
checkout lane PIN pad rigged to capture shoppers' financial-account
information.
Videotape evidence links the men to 1,100 account thefts at Stop &
Shops in Providence, Cranston and Coventry, and ultimately, to ATM
withdrawals made in California, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
The men removed or tried to remove original pin pads from at least
six stores in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
The men were living in California before they flew to Rhode Island
in early February, according to an affidavit signed by Craig Marech,
a Secret Service agent. Also arrested were: Mikael Stepanian, 28,
of Studio City; and Gevork Baltadjian, 20, of Winnetka.
In March, a federal judge granted a government request to hold the
four suspects until at least June 1 before formally charging them.
They each face two federal charges: credit-card fraud and aggravated
identity theft. They face up to five years in prison on the first
charge and a mandatory two-year sentence on the second charge.
The men also face separate state charges in the case: computer fraud,
theft using a computer and conspiracy - all felonies; and computer
trespass - a misdemeanor.
The four suspects face deportation if they're convicted of a federal
crime, according to federal officials.
Ter-Esayan arrived in the United States from Armenia in 2004. The
other three - Stepanian, Baltadjian and Shatarevyan - arrived in the
United States from Armenia in 1993. But they couldn't prove they were
employed since their arrival in this country.
On Wednesday, Ter-Esayan's court-appointed attorney withdrew from
the federal case as the Californian apparently secured the services
of Geragos. The prominent West Coast lawyer will be joined by a
Providence lawyer, John E. MacDonald, of Larochelle & MacDonald.
Geragos replaces Raipher Pellegrino, a Springfield, Mass., lawyer
appointed to represent Ter-Esayan when the case began.
An Armenian-American, Geragos is part of a team of lawyers in a class
action case against two German banks brought by descendants of victims
of the Armenian genocide.
He is also a board member of an Armenian charity group.