Two Men Charged with Fraud Scheme in Connection
with Stealing Identities of More Than 234 Persons

PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Laurie Magid announced the filing today of an information charging two men with bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft arising out of their theft of identifying information of more than 234 persons. Specifically, the information charges Artur Grigoryan and Artur Harutyunyan with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1349 and 1344. Artur Grigoryan is also charged with aggravated identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.

The information charges that from January 2007 until July 18, 2007, the defendants conspired to commit bank fraud against Citizens Bank, PNC Bank and Wachovia Bank by placing a “skimmer” inside a Verifone debit/credit card pad of a Rite Aid store in Wayne, Pennsylvania. A “skimmer” is a portable electronic storage device which extracts customer account information from the magnetic strip on the back of a credit or debit card and stores the information for subsequent download to a computer. Once downloaded, the information from the compromised credit or debit card can be transferred onto a counterfeit credit or debit card. The counterfeited card can then be used for various financial transactions, including to make cash withdrawals from ATM machines.

The information also charges that, after downloading the information from the “skimmer,” in April 2007, they used it to make counterfeit debit cards, which had been produced using the information obtained from the “skimmer,” and in turn used the counterfeit debit cards to make unauthorized and fraudulent cash withdrawals from ATM machines in the Delaware Valley area, in an amount of approximately $351,050.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE DEFENDANTS

NAME	ADDRESS	AGE
Artur Grigoryan	West DeKalb Pike, King of Prussia	26 years old
Artur Harutyunyan	West DeKalb Pike, King of Prussia	25 years old

If convicted, defendant Grigoryan faces a maximum possible sentence of 122 years imprisonment, two years of which must be imposed to run consecutive to any other prison term imposed, a five-year period of supervised release, restitution of $339,000, forfeiture of $351,050 and a $4.25 million fine.

If convicted, defendant Harutyunyan faces a maximum possible sentence of 120 years imprisonment, a five-year period of supervised release, restitution of $339,000, forfeiture of $351,050 and a $4 million fine.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, and the Tredyffrin Township Police Department. The case has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Mary E. Crawley.

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
EASTERN DISTRICT, PENNSYLVANIA
Suite 1250, 615 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Contact:
PATTY HARTMAN
Media Contact
215-861-8525

 

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