Thirteen alleged members and associates of Armenian organized crime syndicates were arrested in California and Florida on Tuesday amid a power struggle between groups operating out of Los Angeles County.
Federal authorities charged the individuals with a range of crimes, including attempted murder, kidnapping, weapons offenses, and cargo theft, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Among those arrested are Ara Artuni, 41, of Porter Ranch, charged with attempted murder in aid of racketeering, and Robert Amiryan, 46, of Hollywood, charged with kidnapping. Authorities allege both men are avtoritet, or criminal authorities, battling for control within what the Attorney’s Office says is a Russian mafia-linked network known as “Armenian Organized Crime.”
The rivalry reportedly escalated in 2023, with Artuni allegedly ordering a hit on Amiryan, who then retaliated by conspiring to kidnap and torture one of Artuni’s associates.
In addition, Artuni and his criminal enterprise is alleged to have committed additional crimes, including bank fraud, wire fraud, and “cargo theft” targeting online retailers such as Amazon. Members of Artuni’s organization enrolled with Amazon as carriers, contracted trucking routes, and then while transporting the goods stole part or all of the shipments worth more than $83 million in total.
Authorities seized $100,000 in cash, 14 firearms, and three armored vehicles during the arrests. Others detained include Vahan Harutyunyan, 50, of Hollywood, Florida, Levon Arakelyan, 45, of Las Vegas, and Ivan Bojorquez, 33, of Gardena, California. One suspect remains at large.
“This transnational criminal organization operated with the structure and brutality of an international cartel,” said HSI Los Angeles Acting Deputy Special Agent Dwayne Angebrandt. “We are holding these perpetrators accountable and disrupting their criminal enterprise at every level.”
The arrests are part of Operation Take Back America, a new national Department of Justice initiative to implement the Trump administration’s policy objectives of cracking down on transnational criminal organizations and illegal immigration.
If convicted, the defendants face maximum sentences ranging from 10 years to life in prison.
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