Suspected Gas Pump Identity Snatchers Arrested For Luxe Shopping Sprees In Santa Clara Co.

Photos: Top row from left: Sarkis Demirchian; Garik Gevorgyan. Bottom row from left: Misak Koshkaryan; Karen Mamidjanyan.

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Four Southern California men have been charged with allegedly creating counterfeit credit cards used to buy more than $500,000 in high-end merchandise in Santa Clara and Fresno counties, a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney said Tuesday.

The suspects allegedly used stolen credit card information from gas station pumps and bought luxury items at 31 stores in Santa Clara County and one store in Fresno County from August 2014 to February, Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Deng said.

A total of 42 charges have been filed between the four men for identity theft, burglary, conspiracy, aggravated white-collar crime enhancements and other crimes, she said.

Prosecutors anticipate the suspects will face additional charges as there may be additional fraudulent transactions that have not yet been discovered, Deng said. Deng called the case “unusual” because the suspects allegedly stole high-value items from numerous stores in a short period of time.

Sarkis Demirchian, 50, and Garik Gevorgyan, 44, were arrested on March 11 and arraigned in Santa Clara County Superior Court the following day, Deng said.

They are being held in county jail on $750,000 bail each, she said.

Misak Koshkaryan, 40, was arrested in Glendale, a city north of Los Angeles, on March 23 and was extradited and arraigned in Santa Clara County the month after, according to Deng. He remains in custody in lieu of $760,00 bail, Deng said.

A fourth suspect, 51-year-old Karen Mamidjanyan was also arrested in Glendale on March 26 on a $1 million warrant, she said. Mamidjanyan is expected to be extradited to Santa Clara County in the next two months, Deng said.

The men would enter stores selling jewelry, beverages, office supplies and groceries where they often traveled “in well-dressed pairs,” prosecutors said. They would purchase high-end watches, jewelry, liquor and gift cards with counterfeit cards that had the card numbers of their victims, according to prosecutors. The counterfeit cards either used the suspects’ names or aliases, Deng said.

The businesses found out about the alleged fraud when they were charged for the suspects’ purchases through the bank listed on the counterfeit cards, according to Deng. They can face more than 20 years in prison if convicted, she said.

The four suspects have been connected with similar alleged fraud schemes in Carmel; Pescadero, a community in San Mateo County, and Santa Barbara and Riverside counties, according to Deng.

The case is being investigated by the Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team task force, a group comprised of local, state and federal agencies directed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

Anyone who has information on the suspects is asked to contact REACT Agent Tanya Neu at (408) 282-2439 or tneu@reacttf.org.

--Bay City News