Operation Power Outage
Encyclopedia
Operation Power Outage was a law enforcement
sting operation
targeted at arresting and indicting members of the Armenian American criminal group Armenian Power
operating in the United States
. The group is accused of racketeering offenses, bank fraud
schemes, kidnapping
s, and drug trafficking.
(FBI), the United States Secret Service
, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
, the Office of Inspector General for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
, IRS Criminal Investigation Division
, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
, the Los Angeles Police Department
, Glendale Police Department, and Burbank Police Department, law enforcement apprehended 74 members and associates of the Armenian Power
transnational criminal organization. The suspects were arrested in about 90 locations throughout Southern California. About 1,000 law enforcement agents took part in the operation. The lead Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force was assisted by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
, the Drug Enforcement Administration
, the Bureau of Investigation of Los Angeles County District Attorney
's Office, the United States Marshals Service
and investigators with the California Department of Motor Vehicles
. It took approximately two years of investigations including usage of undercover agents to carry out the February 2011 arrests. Dubbed "Power Outage" the operation is recognized as the biggest one against Armenian Power syndicate to date.
A total of 113 defendants from four U.S. cities of Los Angeles
, Santa Ana
, Miami
and Denver
have been charged with racketeering, assault, robbery, bank fraud, kidnappings, firearms and drug trafficking, health care fraud, identity theft
and credit card fraud. According to United States Assistant Attorney General
Lanny A. Breuer
, "the crimes alleged in these indictments were calculated, wide-ranging, and sophisticated" and ties of Armenian Power group transcend prisons and international borders. It is alleged that more than 400 crimes have been conducted by the group. One of the cases of kidnapping and racketeering involved kidnapping of a businessman and extorting $500,000. The arrests of Armenian Power members follow the biggest Medicaid fraud in U.S. history
committed by Armenian Americans. Arrests took place in a similar crackdown in October 2010.
of 1970, alleging the indicted criminals have conducted white-collar crime
s including identity theft, credit card skimming and production and use of counterfeit
checks. The 134-count indictment includes a specific case of bank fraud and counterfeit credit card scheme which victimized hundreds of customers of 99 Cents Only Stores
in Southern California, eventually stealing more than $2 million by acquiring customer account information data at cash registers using secretly installed skimming
devices and creating counterfeit debit and credit cards. Additionally, the indictment includes charges against Armenian Power members for kidnapping, extortion
, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, credit card fraud
, marijuana distribution, and carrying out illegal gambling activities. FBI stated that the arrested criminals, if convicted, might face different sentences from 10 to 20 years in prison.
The second indictment from grand jury of Orange County
charges 20 defendants, two of whom were also a subject of the first indictment, with bank fraud scheme which targeted elderly victims. Investigations revealed that the members of Armenian Power were cooperating with members of African-American street gangs and bribed some bank employees to obtain information which allowed them to take over bank accounts consequently causing losses amounting to a grand total of $10 million. Additionally, Los Angeles County District Attorney
charged 11 defendants in seven cases filed in superior court. Federal authorities also charged 13 members in Miami and one in Denver. The Denver PD has arrested Nadezda Nikitina, 24 of Denver, Colorado, for her role in the Armenian Power-led fraud. A Russian immigrant, Nikitina is charged 10 counts of bank fraud, wire fraud and with conspiring with others to make false statements on credit and consumer, home equity loan applications.
Some examples of racketeering and extortion include kidnapping a victim, threatening him with violence in an auto body shop belonging to one of Armenian Power members as well as targeting another victim with an extortion scheme for repeated payments lasting several months by threats to the victim himself and his family. The defendants were allegedly also in possession of marijuana and firearms. Financial crimes part of the indictments alleges that the members of Armenian Power also engaged in a large scale fraudulent check scheme where they obtained customer information for high value accounts, impersonated the customers of banks to order checks and then cashed and deposited checks thus emptying accounts of actual customers. In addition to ordering checks, members of the group allegedly went to the residences of victims and stole blank checks. A grand total of damages caused by members of Armenian Power is $20 million.
Armenian Power
(also known as AP-13) which originated 20 years ago in East Hollywood and has over 200 members, has developed from a street gang into an international criminal organization. The leadership of the organization is closely linked to Thieves in Law
in Armenia and Russia. According to United States Attorney André Birotte Jr, Armenian Power is "willing to do anything and everything illegal to make a profit". Members of the Armenian gang have colorful names such as "Capone," "Thick Neck," "Stomper" and "Casper".
Law enforcement
Law enforcement broadly refers to any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to promote adherence to the law by discovering and punishing persons who violate the rules and norms governing that society...
sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
targeted at arresting and indicting members of the Armenian American criminal group Armenian Power
Armenian Power
Armenian Power, also known as AP, is an Armenian criminal organization located in Los Angeles County, California. They are involved in drug trafficking, murder, assault, fraud, identity theft, illegal gambling, kidnapping, racketeering, robbery and extortion...
operating in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The group is accused of racketeering offenses, bank fraud
Bank fraud
Bank fraud is the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently representing to be a bank or financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offense...
schemes, kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
s, and drug trafficking.
The crackdown
On February 16, 2011 in an operation conducted by the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force which includes the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI), the United States Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security...
, the Office of Inspector General for U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Inspector General , for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is charged with identifying and combating waste, fraud, and abuse in the HHS’s more than 300 programs, including Medicare and programs conducted by agencies within HHS, such as the Food and Drug Administration, the...
, IRS Criminal Investigation Division
IRS Criminal Investigation Division
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation investigates potential criminal violations of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes in a manner intended to foster confidence in the tax system and compliance with the law...
, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is a local county law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. It is the fourth largest local policing agency in the United States, with the New York City Police Department being the first. The second largest is the Chicago Police...
, the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
, Glendale Police Department, and Burbank Police Department, law enforcement apprehended 74 members and associates of the Armenian Power
Armenian Power
Armenian Power, also known as AP, is an Armenian criminal organization located in Los Angeles County, California. They are involved in drug trafficking, murder, assault, fraud, identity theft, illegal gambling, kidnapping, racketeering, robbery and extortion...
transnational criminal organization. The suspects were arrested in about 90 locations throughout Southern California. About 1,000 law enforcement agents took part in the operation. The lead Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force was assisted by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice...
, the Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
, the Bureau of Investigation of Los Angeles County District Attorney
Los Angeles County District Attorney
The District Attorney of Los Angeles County prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County, California....
's Office, the United States Marshals Service
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
and investigators with the California Department of Motor Vehicles
California Department of Motor Vehicles
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is the state agency responsible for the registration of motor vehicles and boats and the issuance of driver's licenses in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for regulating new car dealers , commercial cargo carriers, private driving...
. It took approximately two years of investigations including usage of undercover agents to carry out the February 2011 arrests. Dubbed "Power Outage" the operation is recognized as the biggest one against Armenian Power syndicate to date.
A total of 113 defendants from four U.S. cities of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Santa Ana
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
, Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
and Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
have been charged with racketeering, assault, robbery, bank fraud, kidnappings, firearms and drug trafficking, health care fraud, identity theft
Identity theft
Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
and credit card fraud. According to United States Assistant Attorney General
United States Assistant Attorney General
Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice are headed by an Assistant Attorney General.The President of the United States appoints individuals to the position of Assistant Attorney General with the advice and consent of the Senate...
Lanny A. Breuer
Lanny A. Breuer
Lanny Breuer is an American lawyer and the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.After graduating from Columbia Law School, Breuer was an assistant district attorney in Manhattan from 1985 to 1989...
, "the crimes alleged in these indictments were calculated, wide-ranging, and sophisticated" and ties of Armenian Power group transcend prisons and international borders. It is alleged that more than 400 crimes have been conducted by the group. One of the cases of kidnapping and racketeering involved kidnapping of a businessman and extorting $500,000. The arrests of Armenian Power members follow the biggest Medicaid fraud in U.S. history
2010 Medicaid fraud
The 2010 Medicaid fraud was a case of Medicaid fraud allegedly carried out by an Armenian-American organized crime group operating in the United States.-The crackdown:...
committed by Armenian Americans. Arrests took place in a similar crackdown in October 2010.
Charges
Two federal indictments have been put forth in relation to the arrests. The first indictment charges 29 defendants with RICO conspiracy in violation of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ActRacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
of 1970, alleging the indicted criminals have conducted white-collar crime
White-collar crime
Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" . Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was...
s including identity theft, credit card skimming and production and use of counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
checks. The 134-count indictment includes a specific case of bank fraud and counterfeit credit card scheme which victimized hundreds of customers of 99 Cents Only Stores
99 Cents Only Stores
99 Cents Only Stores is a price-point retailer chain based in Commerce, California. The store offers products at $0.9999 or less. Founded by David Gold in 1982, most of the stores are located in Southern California, with others in Nevada, Arizona and Texas...
in Southern California, eventually stealing more than $2 million by acquiring customer account information data at cash registers using secretly installed skimming
Skimming (fraud)
A form of white-collar crime, skimming is a slang termhttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/skim that refers to taking cash "off the top" of the daily receipts of a business and officially reporting a lower total.- Examples :* A skimming crime may be simple tax evasion: the owner of a business...
devices and creating counterfeit debit and credit cards. Additionally, the indictment includes charges against Armenian Power members for kidnapping, extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, credit card fraud
Credit card fraud
Credit card fraud is a wide-ranging term for theft and fraud committed using a credit card or any similar payment mechanism as a fraudulent source of funds in a transaction. The purpose may be to obtain goods without paying, or to obtain unauthorized funds from an account. Credit card fraud is also...
, marijuana distribution, and carrying out illegal gambling activities. FBI stated that the arrested criminals, if convicted, might face different sentences from 10 to 20 years in prison.
The second indictment from grand jury of Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
charges 20 defendants, two of whom were also a subject of the first indictment, with bank fraud scheme which targeted elderly victims. Investigations revealed that the members of Armenian Power were cooperating with members of African-American street gangs and bribed some bank employees to obtain information which allowed them to take over bank accounts consequently causing losses amounting to a grand total of $10 million. Additionally, Los Angeles County District Attorney
Los Angeles County District Attorney
The District Attorney of Los Angeles County prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within the jurisdiction of Los Angeles County, California....
charged 11 defendants in seven cases filed in superior court. Federal authorities also charged 13 members in Miami and one in Denver. The Denver PD has arrested Nadezda Nikitina, 24 of Denver, Colorado, for her role in the Armenian Power-led fraud. A Russian immigrant, Nikitina is charged 10 counts of bank fraud, wire fraud and with conspiring with others to make false statements on credit and consumer, home equity loan applications.
Some examples of racketeering and extortion include kidnapping a victim, threatening him with violence in an auto body shop belonging to one of Armenian Power members as well as targeting another victim with an extortion scheme for repeated payments lasting several months by threats to the victim himself and his family. The defendants were allegedly also in possession of marijuana and firearms. Financial crimes part of the indictments alleges that the members of Armenian Power also engaged in a large scale fraudulent check scheme where they obtained customer information for high value accounts, impersonated the customers of banks to order checks and then cashed and deposited checks thus emptying accounts of actual customers. In addition to ordering checks, members of the group allegedly went to the residences of victims and stole blank checks. A grand total of damages caused by members of Armenian Power is $20 million.
Armenian Power
Armenian Power
Armenian Power, also known as AP, is an Armenian criminal organization located in Los Angeles County, California. They are involved in drug trafficking, murder, assault, fraud, identity theft, illegal gambling, kidnapping, racketeering, robbery and extortion...
(also known as AP-13) which originated 20 years ago in East Hollywood and has over 200 members, has developed from a street gang into an international criminal organization. The leadership of the organization is closely linked to Thieves in Law
Thief in law
Thief in law is a criminal who is respected, has authority and a high ranking status within the...
in Armenia and Russia. According to United States Attorney André Birotte Jr, Armenian Power is "willing to do anything and everything illegal to make a profit". Members of the Armenian gang have colorful names such as "Capone," "Thick Neck," "Stomper" and "Casper".