FBI raids Hollywood mansion in $17.4M elderly mortgage fraud case

FBI agents raided a Hollywood mansion early Thursday and arrested a pajama-clad suspect in a raid allegedly linked to a $17.4 million mortgage fraud scheme targeting elderly homeowners.

prosecutors in question This plan resulted in actual losses of approximately $6 million; The 11 suspects, including Iranian and Azerbaijani citizens, were accused of stealing the victims’ identities, taking out the mortgages on their homes and pocketing the money.

During the raid as part of Operation Hard Money, police surrounded the house and detained the suspect after he came out with his hands up before being handcuffed. FOX 11 reported. Several luxury vehicles were parked outside, and the property appeared to have been recently remodeled, the outlet reported.

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“There is no shortage of major fraud occurring in California,” assistant United States attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “Today’s operation represents one of many sophisticated schemes used by criminals, including foreign nationals, to defraud U.S. citizens and taxpayers of their hard-earned property. Under the direction of the U.S. Department of Justice, those days are over. These defendants face significant prison time for their charged conduct.”

Responding to the raid, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote of X: “Allegations of massive fraud in California by @FBILosAngeles eliminated – well done.”

FBI Director Kash Patel praised the operation. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

All but one of the defendants are charged with wire fraud conspiracy and multiple counts of wire fraud, while many also face aggravated identity theft and money laundering charges, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said.

Authorities allege that the group targeted elderly homeowners between 2021 and 2023, stealing personal information and using that information to create fake identities and email accounts to impersonate victims. They then applied for high-value “cash” loans backed by the victims’ estates by submitting false documents, including bank statements, rental agreements and medical records.

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After a four-year investigation, the FBI’s Eurasian Organized Crime Unit arrested 11 suspects in “Operation Hard Money” and accused them of stealing the identities of elderly victims in order to fraudulently obtain loans on their property. (@FBILosAngeles/X)

The suspects allegedly used fake identities and front accounts to transfer the proceeds to accounts under their control.

The plan includes properties throughout Los Angeles, including Hollywood, Hollywood Hills, Westwood and Chinatown, officials said.

The defendants are Nazaret Chakrian (65); Arnold Moradians, 57; Avetis Hekimyan, 38; Ross Tarkhan, 32; Tigran Hovanesyan, 56; Armen Vardevaryan, 55; Craig Higdon, 66; Helen Spangler, 62; Victor Lossi, 43; Deniz Sargsyan, 49; and Cynthia Borjas, 51.

FBI agents detain a suspect outside a Hollywood mansion during a raid allegedly connected to a $17.4 million mortgage fraud scheme targeting elderly homeowners. (FOX 11/KTTV)

Prosecutors said two of the suspects are foreign nationals, Moradyans, an Iranian national who has an outstanding warrant for deportation from the United States, and Sargsyan, an Azerbaijani citizen and green card holder.

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If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison on each fraud and money laundering count, plus a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for aggravated identity theft.

The case is being investigated by the FBI-led Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force, along with the IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and local law enforcement.