Exhibit A — USA v. Ayvazyan et al (Dkt. 329.3)

Summary

Exhibit A, Document 329-3 filed May 10, 2021 in Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW (C.D. Cal.), is a May 7, 2021 letter from Steptoe & Johnson LLP, counsel for Defendant Richard Ayvazyan, to government counsel headed Arrest of Richard Ayvazyan & Discovery. The letter says California state authorities arrested Ayvazyan the previous week and accuses the government of violating the Court's discovery order and collaborating with the LAPD and state authorities. It demands answers on how long and in what ways the government has worked with those agencies. It also asks for production of discovery in the possession of the collaborating agencies, a log of communications with state and local authorities, and memorialized communications about charging or detaining Ayvazyan. These are defense counsel's assertions and requests.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Record facts

Full text

EXHIBIT A
Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW     Document 329-3     Filed 05/10/21     Page 1 of 5   Page ID
#:3355

May 7, 2021 
 
By Electronic Mail 
 
Christopher Fenton, Trial Attorney  
Brian Faerstein, Assistant United States Attorney 
Scott Paetty, Assistant United States Attorney 
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California 
312 N Spring St. 
Los Angeles, CA 90012 
 
  
Re: 
United States v. Richard Ayvazyan et al., No. 20-cr-579 (SVW) 
  
 
Arrest of Richard Ayvazyan & Discovery 
 
Dear Counsel: 
 
Last week—just over six weeks from the beginning of trial—California state authorities 
arrested our client Richard Ayvazyan.  This arrest comes less than two weeks after the 
government’s request to delay trial until August 24, 2021, so that the government could obtain 
more time to investigate and prepare for trial was largely denied by the Court.   
The state case against Ayvazyan has been material since before the federal case was filed 
as exemplified by the August 4, 2020 email in which Agent Palmerton dug up information 
related to a two-year-long coordinated FBI-state investigation beginning in 2017 where 
Ayvazyan was listed as a possible participant in a mortgage fraud ring, and used this information 
as part of the basis for concluding that Ayvazyan was “the identity of one of our subjects.”  
DOJ_PROD_0000161157.  The government has since disclosed that the U.S. Attorney’s Office 
declined to bring charges in 2019.  Despite this clear materiality, the government violated the 
Court’s discovery order by failing to produce this evidence in discovery.  Moreover, it appears 
that the government continued to collaborate with the state prosecution including through ex 
parte meetings and communications that have not yet been produced. 
In the thirteen-day interim period between the Court’s April 16, 2021 order setting a firm 
trial date and last week’s arrest, the government hinted at its collaboration with the Los Angeles 
Nicholas P. Silverman 
202 429 8096 
nsilverman@steptoe.com 
1330 Connecticut Ave. NW 
Washington, DC 20036 
202 429 3000 main 
www.steptoe.com 
 
Stentoe 
STEPTOE & JOHNS ON LLP 
BEIJING 
BRUSSELS 
CH ICAGO 
HONGKONG 
LONDON 
LOS ANGELES 
NEW YORK 
SAN FRANCISCO 
WASHINGTON 
Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW     Document 329-3     Filed 05/10/21     Page 2 of 5   Page ID
#:3356

May 7, 2021 
Page 2 
 
Police Department (LAPD), admitting that it1 received evidence from LAPD on April 20, 2021, 
but it conspicuously omitted how or why this collaboration occurred four days after a firm trial 
date was set.  Based on the government’s disclosure and other information, it appeared unlikely 
that the April 20, 2021 communication was the government’s first or only collaboration with 
LAPD or California state authorities regarding Mr. Ayvazyan, his co-defendants, or the 
allegations against them.   
The circumstances suggest that the government has continued collaborating with the state 
and local authorities regarding the attempt to detain Mr. Ayvazyan so that he cannot prepare for 
trial.  The government’s belated disclosures demand further information:  How long has the 
government been collaborating with the LAPD or California state authorities?  Which LAPD or 
California state authorities have participated in this investigation or prosecution and in what 
ways?  What discoverable information and evidence is in the possession of LAPD or California 
state authorities? 
In addition to answering those questions, we demand that the government comply with its 
discovery obligations.  As explicitly noted and reiterated in our November 18, 2020, December 
11, 2020, December 24, 2020, and January 21, 2021 letters to the government, our discovery 
requests are continuing in nature and include information that is not memorialized.  In addition to 
reiterating those requests, we wish to highlight several categories of discovery and request their 
prompt production. 
1.  We have repeatedly requested production of discovery in the possession, custody, or 
control of, or that have been reviewed by any federal, state, or local authority that is coordinating 
with the investigation or prosecution of this case or any related conduct.  See Dkt. 133-1 at 2.  
We now understand that the agencies collaborating on this investigation and prosecution include 
not just the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the Department of 
Justice Criminal Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the 
Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, the Federal Housing Finance 
Agency Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Homeland Security, but also 
includes state and local agencies including but not limited to the California Attorney General’s 
Office, the State of California Department of Justice, the LAPD, and other California state and 
local authorities.  The government is obligated to produce discovery in the possession, custody, 
or control of each of these agencies.  We request that the government: 
                                                                                                                                                 
1 The April 26, 2021 letter notes that the IRS is collaborating with the LAPD but could be read to 
erroneously imply that the IRS is not a part of the prosecution team.  See Apr. 26, 2021 Ltr. from Scott 
Paetty et al. (“IRS-CI described to us the contents of some of the documents and evidence obtained during 
the [LAPD] search but did not provide us with a copy of any of the documents or photographs of 
evidence … We will not be reviewing these documents and photographs and will not be using them in the 
government’s case-in-chief in this matter.”).  We assume that this potential implication is not intentional, 
but for the avoidance of any doubt, both the discovery produced to date and the government’s public 
statements confirm that the IRS is part of the prosecution team and subject to all of its Brady, Giglio, and 
other obligations. 
SteQtoe 
STEPTOE & JOHNSON LLP 
Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW     Document 329-3     Filed 05/10/21     Page 3 of 5   Page ID
#:3357

May 7, 2021 
Page 3 
 
(a) produce all discovery immediately including any discovery that would be material to 
undercutting the government’s allegations in this case such as evidence that someone 
other than Ayvazyan is “at the helm” of the alleged conspiracy (see Tr. of Apr. 2, 2021 
Hr’g at 6 (Dkt. 289-4)) or that Ayvazyan had any sources of funds other than the alleged 
PPP loan fraud whether those sources could have led directly or indirectly to electronic 
transfers, expenditures, or the cash recovered during the November 5, 2020 search 
warrant execution, and  
(b) summarize all efforts to ensure that discovery was produced from each of the 
following agencies: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, the 
Department of Justice Criminal Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 
Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector 
General, the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General, the 
Department of Homeland Security, the California Attorney General’s Office, the State of 
California Department of Justice, the LAPD, and any other agencies collaborating on the 
investigation or prosecution. 
(c) produce the materials referenced in the government’s May 3, 2021 letter. 
2.  Both before and after indictment, Mr. Ayvazyan refused the government’s requests 
that he waive his constitutional and statutory speedy trial rights, including refusing government 
offers to forgo certain punitive charges as an incentive.  Mr. Ayvazyan thereafter invoked his 
constitutional and statutory rights in this case ultimately leading to the Court setting trial dates of 
January 12, 2021; May 4, 2021; and June 15, 2021.  We understand that the government has 
communicated with the California Attorney General’s Office, the State of California Department 
of Justice, the LAPD, and other California state authorities in what appears to be a systematic 
and coordinated attempt to violate Mr. Ayvazyan’s federal and state rights.  We therefore request 
that:  
(a) The government promptly produce a log of all communications regarding Mr. 
Ayvazyan or any of his co-defendants (or related cases) between the U.S. Attorney’s 
Office for the Central District of California, the Department of Justice Criminal Division, 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the Small Business 
Administration Office of Inspector General, or the Federal Housing Finance Agency 
Office of Inspector General, on the one hand, and the California Attorney General’s 
Office, the State of California Department of Justice, the LAPD, and other California 
state and local authorities on the other.  Please memorialize the date of the 
communication, location or medium of communication, each person present for the 
communication, and the substance of the communication.    
(b) To the extent that the government argues any communication need not be 
memorialized or produced, promptly produce a log identifying that communication, as 
much of the information as the government is capable of producing, and a complete 
explanation for the government’s unwillingness to memorialize or produce the 
communication.  We reserve the right to move for relief based on the government’s 
unwillingness to disclose such material communications. 
SteQtoe 
STEPTOE & JOHNSON LLP 
Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW     Document 329-3     Filed 05/10/21     Page 4 of 5   Page ID
#:3358

May 7, 2021 
Page 4 
 
3.  Separate and apart from the foregoing requests, we request that the government 
promptly memorialize and produce all communications with the California Attorney General’s 
Office, the State of California Department of Justice, the LAPD, and other California state 
authorities regarding (a) whether, when, or how to charge Mr. Ayvazyan, or (b) the potential 
detention, remand, release, or bail for Mr. Ayvazyan. 
These requests are not exclusive of our previous discovery requests, many of which 
remain outstanding, including requests for grand jury evidence, testimony, and transcripts.  The 
government is obligated to produce the above material and all other discovery so that we can 
prepare for trial and promptly move for any relief that may render a trial unnecessary.   
Sincerely, 
/s/ Nicholas P. Silverman      
 
 
 
Ashwin J. Ram 
 
 
Michael A. Keough 
Nicholas P. Silverman (pro hac vice) 
STEPTOE & JOHNSON LLP 
1330 Connecticut Ave. NW 
Washington, DC 20036 
nsilverman@steptoe.com  
 
Counsel for Defendant Richard Ayvazyan
 
SteQtoe 
STEPTOE & JOHNSON LLP 
Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW     Document 329-3     Filed 05/10/21     Page 5 of 5   Page ID
#:3359

File and source

File

gov.uscourts.cacd.813904.329.3.pdf

Size

1,138,839 bytes

SHA-256

d63b5a8f401c024f0c1a05d56f1f8137b7ffd7789f0b4c65079750d173697dd6

Our copy

gov.uscourts.cacd.813904.329.3.pdf

Original

PACER (login required)