The RoA Consulate in Los Angeles issued a statement regarding the arrest of five individuals, including the former Consul, charged in an immigration scam. The RoA Consulate states that it has been informed of the charges levied against five individuals of Armenian descent regarding the forgery of immigration documents and that is ready to offer all possible assistance to the law enforcement authorities in the United States. The consulate stated that Norayr Ghalumyan, the former consul and one of the five arrested, stopped working for the consulate after 2002 and took up permanent residence in the U.S. in 2003 Another arrested individual, Hakob Hovhannisyan, a citizen of the U.S., used to work for the technical department at consulate but was dismissed in 2007. The statement goes on to say that it expects to receive additional details from U.S. officials, especially related the forgery of consular documents.