Still No Arrests in EVG Fraud Case; Station Re-Opens Under New Name

More than two months after surfaced of fraudulent charges posted by the shuttered EVG Quality Gas station, Sierra Madre Police confirmed Monday that no arrests have yet been made in the case. Sergeant Ruben Enriquez of the SMPD told Patch that agents from U.S. Secret Service were still heading up the "ongoing investigation."

As of Feb. 21, 2011, the total number of substantiated claims received by the included 593 victims, with a total amount of $164,743 recorded in the ongoing tally of fraudulent charges. And those numbers are still continuing to rise.

"Those numbers are a bit out of date because we've had a few more claims come in that haven't been added to the total," Enriquez said. "At this point we've probably got just over 600 victims and a total that's still under $200,000.

The statement from Sgt. Enriquez of the SMPD that no arrests have been made is contrary to rumors circulating among many in Sierra Madre that arrests had, in fact, been made in relation to the EVG case.

Those rumors likely stem from the arrest of a Glendale man for a similar credit card "skimming" operation, and a crackdown on members of the "Armenian Power" gang that followed.

As of Feb 17, local and federal agents had arrested 70 people who allegedly assisted an Armenian organized crime ring, according to the Glendale News-Press. Charges in the massive law enforcement operation range from kidnapping and extortion to bank fraud and identity theft including "skimming" operations like that believed to have been used to defraud more than 600 Sierra Madre residents.

One person who said he had heard the had been arrested was Bishara Kawar, manager of Sierra Madre's newest business to open its doors to the community. Kawar, along with his business partner George Attar, recently opened "Sierra Madre Gas Square, Inc." in the building that formerly housed EVG Quality Gas.

"I heard they arrested the guys," Kawar said in an interview on Thursday, March 3. "It was part of a big arrest in Glendale."

Kawar, however, was quick to qualify his statement, saying, "that's just what I've heard," and that he thought he had read it in the newspaper.

But Sgt. Enriquez dismissed the rumors of a known connection between the two cases or of any EVG-related arrests, telling Patch that no link had been found between the Glendale suspects and the EVG investigation.

Attar, who owns the property and had been leasing it to former EVG operator and , received in January to either re-open the business or remove all gasoline from the site. Shortly thereafter, Attar and Kawar applied for and received a from the city and the new station has been operating since Feb. 18, 2011.

While Attar did not return calls requesting an interview, Kawar offered his comments on behalf of the new business.

Speaking just prior to the station's re-opening, Kawar said he hoped that the now owner-operated store would garner more trust from potential customers.

"The last guy was just leasing the building. We're the property owners, we're not going anywhere," Kawar said with a laugh.

Despite the negative feelings of some in the community toward the station, Kawar said that business has been "slowly picking up."

Kawar said he and Attar understand that it will take time to rebuild trust with the community, and much of the time that effort is being made one customer at a time.

"We have some customers coming in thinking we're the same people," Kawar said. "We tell them that we're not the bad guys. Places don't do bad things, people do bad things."