Crime & Safety
California Arrests Appear Linked to Ankeny Debit Card Fraud
Two men arrested in Pleasant Hill, Calif., are suspected to be involved in local fraud case.
Two men have been arrested in California in apparent connection to the theft of thousands of dollars from the bank accounts of dozens of Ankeny residents in a scheme involving debit cards.
The two men are suspected of being part of a "much larger" criminal operation that involved scores of victims in Iowa and other states, said Detective Jeff Silva of the police department in Pleasant Hill, Calif.
A California newspaper reported earlier this week that Pleasant Hill police arrested Eduard Arakelyan, 20, and Arman Vardanyan, 22, both of southern California, on suspicion of committing several felonies. They were found in possession of several loaded firearms, hundreds of cloned debit cards and tens of thousands of dollars in cash.
Find out what's happening in Ankenyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Ankeny Police would not confirm they had been contacted in regard to the arrest but said they were aware of the California case and were following it closely.
Ankeny Police Capt. Greg Throckmorton said the department has received more than 100 reports related to the fraud.
Find out what's happening in Ankenyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Most of the reports involve anywhere between $100 to $500 missing from checking accounts," Capt. Throckmorton said.
The Ankeny Police Department to residents on Tuesday alerting them of the criminal activity. Police said credit cards were not affected.
Previous media reports had suggested thieves used a skimming device to steal debit card information at Michael's craft stores; however, local police are not confirming that information at this time.
Michael's released a statement on May 25 reporting payment card machines had been tampered with in at least 80 stores in 19 states, including Iowa.
A list on the company's corporate website includes the Ankeny store at 1725 SE Delaware Ave. Other Iowa cities with affected stores are Coralville, Davenport and Marion.
Ankeny Patch has heard from who have had money withdrawn from their accounts without permission with many of the unauthorized transactions occurring in southern California, where the arrests were made.