U.S. law enforcement agencies arrested 32 people, including a number of Armenians, on May 6 after being charged with various criminal conspiracy charges.

The indictment names three Armenians (Ara Karapedyan, 45, Mihran Stepanyan, 29, and Artur Stepanyan, 38) as the ringleaders of a nationwide conspiracy to conduct a broad range of criminal activity including unlicensed wholesale drug distribution, money laundering and fraud.

The arrests follow a joint investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service.

 The indictment names 33 defendants in all and describes an enterprise that spanned throughout California as well as in Minnesota, Ohio and Puerto Rico.

Regarding the multi-million dollar prescription drug diversion scheme, members and associates of the enterprise are alleged to have procured prescription drugs from unlicensed sources and to have resold the drugs to unknowing customers. 

Another aspect of the alleged criminal activity is a massive check and bank fraud operation. 

As part of the enterprise, Karapedyan and his associates (including Asatour Magzanyan, 53, Tigran Sarkisyan, 38, and Hripsime Khachtryan, 41) allegedly used fraudulent identification information to prepare fraudulent tax returns, which were then filed with the government in order to induce the U.S. Treasury to issue tax refund checks.

In addition to the fraudulent unlicensed distribution of drugs and negotiating fraudulent checks, Karapedyan, the Stepanyans and others are charged with conspiring to launder money in an effort to promote their criminal activities and to conceal proceeds collected from their criminal activities. 

See full FBI news release HERE