Court filing
REPLY in Support of the Government's MIL #2 MOTION in Limine to Admit Evidence… — USA v. Ayvazyan et al (Dkt. 441)
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Central District of California |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2021-06-07 |
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California · No. 2:20-cr-00579-SVW · Doc. 441 · 2021-06-07 · Docket on CourtListener
Summary
The government's reply in support of its Motion in Limine #2 in USA v. Ayvazyan et al, No. 2:20-cr-00579-SVW, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, filed June 7, 2021 as Doc. 441, with a hearing date of June 14, 2021. It answers oppositions by Richard Ayvazyan, Marietta Terabelian, Artur Ayvazyan and Tamara Dadyan and by Edvard Paronyan and Vahe Dadyan, arguing that "reserve identities" evidence is inextricably intertwined with the charged fraud and money laundering conspiracies. The reply states the evidence came from federal search warrants the court previously upheld, not a state investigation. It cites text messages and phone images, including notes on altering California driver's licenses, and argues in the alternative for admission under Rule 404(b). The 16-page filing carries the /s/ signature of Catherine Ahn.
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
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TRACY L. WILKISON
Acting United States Attorney
SCOTT M. GARRINGER
Assistant United States Attorney
Chief, Criminal Division
SCOTT PAETTY (Cal. Bar No. 274719)
CATHERINE AHN (Cal. Bar No. 248286)
BRIAN FAERSTEIN (Cal. Bar No. 274850)
Assistant United States Attorneys
Major Frauds/Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Sections
1100/1300 United States Courthouse
312 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
Telephone: (213) 894-6527/2424/3819
Facsimile: (213) 894-6269/0141
E-mail:
Scott.Paetty@usdoj.gov
Catherine.S.Ahn@usdoj.gov
Brian.Faerstein@usdoj.gov
DANIEL S. KAHN
Acting Chief, Fraud Section
Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
CHRISTOPHER FENTON
Trial Attorney, Fraud Section
Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
1400 New York Avenue NW, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20530
Telephone: (202) 320-0539
Facsimile: (202) 514-0152
E-mail:
Christopher.Fenton@usdoj.gov
Attorneys for Plaintiff
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v.
RICHARD AYVAZYAN,
aka “Richard Avazian” and
“Iuliia Zhadko,”
MARIETTA TERABELIAN,
aka “Marietta Abelian” and
“Viktoria Kauichko,”
ARTUR AYVAZYAN,
aka “Arthur Ayvazyan,” and
TAMARA DADYAN,
MANUK GRIGORYAN,
aka “Mike Grigoryan,” and
No. CR 20-579(A)-SVW
REPLY IN SUPPORT OF THE
GOVERNMENT’S MOTION IN LIMINE #2
TO ADMIT EVIDENCE INEXTRICABLY
INTERTWINED WITH THE CHARGED
OFFENSES; DECLARATION OF CATHERINE
AHN; REDACTED EXHIBITS 3 AND 6
ATTACHED AND EXHIBITS 1-2 AND 4-5
ATTACHED AND FILED UNDER SEAL
Hearing Date: June 14, 2021
Hearing Time: 1:30 p.m.
Trial Date: June 14, 2021
Location: Courtroom of the
Hon. Stephen V.
Wilson
Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW Document 441 Filed 06/07/21 Page 1 of 16 Page ID
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“Anton Kudiumov,”
ARMAN HAYRAPETYAN,
EDVARD PARONYAN,
aka “Edvard Paronian” and
“Edward Paronyan,” and
VAHE DADYAN,
Defendants.
Plaintiff United States of America, by and through its counsel
of record, the Acting United States Attorney for the Central District
of California, Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Paetty,
Catherine Ahn, and Brian Faerstein, and Department of Justice Trial
Attorney Christopher Fenton, hereby files this reply in support of
the government’s motion in limine seeking admission of evidence
inextricably intertwined with the charged bank fraud and wire fraud
and money laundering conspiracies and schemes.
This reply is based upon the attached memorandum of points and
authorities, the attached declaration, the files and records in this
case, and such further evidence and argument as the Court may permit.
Dated: June 7, 2021
Respectfully submitted,
TRACY L. WILKISON
Acting United States Attorney
SCOTT M. GARRINGER
Assistant United States Attorney
Chief, Criminal Division
/s/
CATHERINE AHN
SCOTT PAETTY
BRIAN FAERSTEIN
Assistant United States Attorneys
CHRISTOPHER FENTON
Department of Justice Trial Attorney
Attorneys for Plaintiff
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DESCRIPTION
PAGE
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES...............................................ii
MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES................................1
I.
INTRODUCTION...................................................1
II.
ARGUMENT.......................................................1
A.
The Reserve Identities Evidence is Derived from
Federal Search Warrants and Is Inextricably
Intertwined with the Charged Fraud and Money
Laundering Conspiracy Offenses............................1
B.
Ninth Circuit Precedents are Squarely in Favor of the
Reserve Identities’ Evidence Admission....................8
C.
The Reserve Identities Evidence is Inextricably
Intertwined with the Same Scheme and Conspiracy for
which Defendants Paronyan and V. Dadyan are Charged
and are Therefore Admissible Against Them................10
D.
The Reserve Identities Evidence is Admissible under
Rule 404(b)..............................................12
III. CONCLUSION....................................................12
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
DESCRIPTION
PAGE
CASES
United States v. Anderson, 741 F.3d 938 (9th Cir. 2013)............10
United States v. Dorsey, 677 F.3d 944 (9th Cir. 2012)..............10
United States v. Loftis, 843 F.3d 1173 (9th Cir. 2016)........4, 8, 9
United States v. Romero, 282 F.3d 683 (9th Cir. 2002)..............12
United States v. Vizcarra-Martinez, 66 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 1995)....9
United States v. Vo, 413 F.3d 1010 (9th Cir. 2005).................12
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MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES
I.
INTRODUCTION
The government moved in limine for the admission of evidence
related to identities, and instruments of fraud, that were not
directly used in identified PPP or EIDL applications but were
collocated with, and whose possession was inextricably intertwined
with, evidence of business and individual identities directly used in
PPP and EIDL applications and associated financial accounts and
transactions (the “reserve identities evidence”). Defendants Richard
Ayvazyan, Marietta Terabelian, Artur Ayvazyan, and Tamara Dadyan
filed their opposition arguing that such evidence should be excluded
under Fed. R. Evid. (“Rule”) 404(b) (ECF 419), and defendants Edvard
Paronyan and Vahe Dadyan filed an opposition arguing that the
evidence was not admissible against them under a Rule 404(b) analysis
and, if admitted, a limiting instruction should be provided (ECF 420
and 424). For the reasons described below, this Court should find
that the reserve identities evidence is inextricably intertwined with
the charged schemes and conspiracies, and that presentation of the
evidence is necessary to tell a coherent story of how defendants
executed the scheme to defraud and conspiracies.
II.
ARGUMENT
A.
The Reserve Identities Evidence is Derived from Federal
Search Warrants and Is Inextricably Intertwined with the
Charged Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracy Offenses
Defendants R. Ayvazyan, M. Terabelian, A. Ayvazyan, and T.
Dadyan open their opposition with a factual inaccuracy. Defendants
appear to argue from the position that the evidence discussed in the
government’s motion in limine was obtained from a state
investigation. As discussed at length in its motion (see e.g., Mot.
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at 5-6), the evidence was obtained through federal and not state
search warrants, which this Court previously reviewed and upheld.
(ECF 269 and 297.)
Defendants’ misconception appears to be based on their assertion
that defendants – as alleged by the state – used some of the same
identities and instruments of fraud to perpetrate mortgage fraud.
(ECF 419 at 9-10.) This argument reveals an inconvenient truth for
defendants, which is that defendants have apparently used the same
identities, the same instruments of fraud, for multiple forms of
fraud and conspiracy, including the ones charged in the instant case.
(Id.)
For example, defendants point to identification cards and
documents related to Liudmyla K., Egia K., Mykhail D., and others as
examples of “reserve identities” evidence that should be excluded.
Defendants are simply incorrect – the identities of Liudmyla K., Egia
K., Mykhail D., Roza A., and others were directly used in the PPP and
EIDL fraud, as evidenced by defendants R. Ayvazyan and T. Dadyan’s
own text messages. (Mot. at 15 and Exh. 3 (previously filed under
seal).) However, the striking similarities between this and the
reserve identities evidence may have fueled that confusion and is
further evidence of their use in a common criminal scheme. The
reserve and used identities evidence were all found in the same
general location because these identities are – as discussed in the
government’s motion – interchangeable components of the fraud and
money laundering conspiracies. (Mot. at 2, 15, 24.) Defendants’
actual use of the identities highlighted by the defense provides a
useful lens through which to better understand how and why the
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reserve identities evidence is inextricably intertwined with the
overall conspiracies and schemes.
As further discussed below, to execute their conspiracies to
submit fraudulent EIDL and PPP applications, obtain the proceeds, and
distribute the proceeds to co-conspirators for personal use,
defendants needed the following:
1)
A ready supply of individual and business identities whose
existence and operations could be proved to the government
in support of a PPP or EIDL application;
2)
Purportedly official-looking documents that supported the
pre-COVID-19 existence and operation of these applying
businesses and their employees;
3)
Bank accounts whose real, fake, or synthetic owners and
signatories sufficiently matched the PPP and EIDL
applications to ensure the funds would be disbursed after
approval;
4)
Additional bank accounts through which the PPP and EIDL
proceeds could be distributed to co-conspirators for
payment and to conceal the source of funds when used for
personal benefit;
5)
A ready supply of individual and business documents to
prove the existence of these individuals and businesses to
banks if or when the accounts were flagged for fraud; and
6)
A similar ready supply of individual and business documents
to open new accounts if and when accounts were frozen or
closed out due to fraud.
A common theme in each of the steps above is defendants’ access
to personal and business identities and the instruments of fraud to
prove their existence – which is why defendants’ possession of the
reserve identities evidence is inextricably intertwined with the
charged fraud and money laundering conspiracies. It shows the jury
how defendants managed to complete each of the above-referenced steps
on the fraud assembly line, proves the fraudulent scheme as a whole,
and enables the government to tell a complete and coherent story of
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the charged crimes. United States v. Loftis, 843 F.3d 1173, 1175-78
(9th Cir. 2016).
At its core, defendants’ fraud and money laundering conspiracies
operated as follows: defendants used a combination of real, stolen,
and fake personal and business information to develop synthetic
individual and business identities. Defendants used businesses and
identities that they had already created, such as Secureline Realty
and ABC Realty, as well as quickly created paper companies like
“Green Label Nutrienrs” (sic)1. (See Mot. at 9 (T.D. iPhone Excerpt
2) and Gov’t. Exh. 1 (filed under seal).) They soon brought their
pre-existing access to online databases to the conspiracy, as well.
As shown through T. Dadyan’s text messages, T. Dadyan had a
subscription to information database TLOxp through her apparently
suspended (not legitimately operating) real estate company Secureline
Realty, and defendants further used public websites to steal the
information of real businesses for use on PPP and EIDL applications.
(See Mot. at 9-10 (T.D. iPhone Excerpt 2), 13-14 (T.D. iPhone Excerpt
5), and 18-19 (T.D. iPhone Excerpt 7).) The government does not
intend to try defendants for committing mortgage loan fraud. But it
cannot tell the story of the PPP and EIDL fraud without reference to
defendants’ use of their real-estate business and the tools they used
to commit PPP and EIDL fraud and money laundering conspiracy. It was
the defendants, not the government, who brought these lines of fraud
together. The government should not be artificially limited in its
presentation of proof because defendants committed multiple crimes
1 File name “GREEN LABEL TAX ID.pdf” sent from “tammy” to “Rich
New” on or about May 28, 2020 with the message, “Look that’s mine I
can apply.” The document is an EIN assignment letter from the IRS
dated May 7, 2020 – well after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
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using the same instruments of fraud. United States v. Williams, 989
F.2d 1061, 1071 (9th Cir. 1993).
Defendants also manufactured false and fraudulent identification
cards to support the lie that the identified people were the actual
owners of businesses legitimately seeking PPP and EIDL funds. Not
only did the government find numerous false and fraudulent CADLs in
the same location in T. Dadyan’s and A. Ayvazyan’s residence, the
government also discovered notes on how to falsify CADLs, images from
identification making software, and images of many of the same CADLs
on A. Ayvazyan’s phone. (See Gov’t. Exh. 2 at 1 (showing physical
CADLs found at the T. Dadyan and A. Ayvazyan residence) and 2-3
(showing digital images of identification cards bearing different
photos and notes on how to create doctored identification cards found
on A. Ayvazyan’s phone).)
One set of images found on A. Ayvazyan’s phone is particularly
critical to explaining to the jury how this part of the scheme and
conspiracy operated. The government found on A. Ayvazyan’s phone a
photograph of a hand-written note containing instructions on how to
doctor the identification card of Nerses N. (“Please use a (sic) old
Armenian guy and Please match his Description to . . .”) (Id. at 3.)
This explicitly shows the jury the role A. Ayvazyan played and the
deliberate and intentional use of synthetic identities as part of the
fraud conspiracy. During the November 2020 residential searches, the
same Nerses N. CADL was found in A. Ayvazyan’s and T. Dadyan’s
residence, along with CADLs of identities like Roza A., Liudmyla K.,
and Mykhail D., among others, that were used in PPP and EIDL
applications. (Id. at 1; see also Fenton Decl. (ECF 207) Exh. 8 at
1-3.) To confirm A. Ayvazyan’s knowledge of and role in the
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conspiracy, the government found screenshots and photographs of SBA
EIDL websites confirming the submission of applications using emails
associated with Liudmyla K. and Mykhail D., among others, on A.
Ayvazyan’s phones. (See Gov’t. Exh. 2 at 4-5.)
Unlike with Roza A., Mykhail D., Egia K., and Tony G., the
government has not found a PPP or EIDL application using the Nerses
N. identity, but its physical collocation with those that were used,
and its presence on A. Ayvazyan’s phone with other doctored
identification cards, shows how it is inextricably intertwined with
the conspiracy and necessary for the government to complete the story
of this criminal enterprise.
The text messages between “tammy” and “Rich New” also show R.
Ayvazyan using Gusto, an online payroll service provider, to generate
false payroll reports in support of purported payroll expenses in
EIDL and PPP applications. This includes payroll reports purportedly
for “LK Designs” owned by Liudmyla K. sent between “tammy” and “R.
Ayvazyan” through text messages. As shown below, “tammy” explicitly
references a payroll report “Rich new” did for “22” while also
texting “Rich New” a file named “LK Schedule C Copy.pdf.”
T.D. iPhone Excerpt 9 (July 1, 2020):
#
Time (UTC)
From
Body
3429 9:05 PM
tammy
Bro look this idiot want detailed payroll report or w2 s
[LIUDMYLA KOPYTOVA.png]
3431 9:15 PM
tammy
7472324114
3432 9:16 PM
tammy
U have this number
3433 9:16 PM
tammy
Urgent for
3434 9:16 PM
tammy
Fiber one
3435 9:16 PM
Rich New
I don’t have that number aziz
3436 9:26 PM
tammy
8185939816
3437 9:26 PM
tammy
U have this phone babe
3438 9:27 PM
Rich New
No that’s the number you gave me
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3450 11:51 PM
tammy
FIBER ONE MEDIA EMAIL OF RICH:
EMAIL.FIBERONEMEDIA.COM
PASSWORD: Shoup@317
Email: INFO@FIBERONEMEDIA.COM
3451 11:59 PM
tammy
7472324114 can u please update website Put this a phone
3452 12:00 AM
tammy
On it
3453 12:00 AM
tammy
And text me when u so so Steph does yellow pages
3454 12:20 AM
tammy
Mayor talking now
3455 12:36 AM
Rich New
Ok I got that email
3456 12:36 AM
Rich New
You need to send a code?
3457 12:37 AM
tammy
Yes hold on u have it open
3458 12:37 AM
Rich New
Ya
3459 1:07 AM
Rich New
[61534485256__015D99A0-04CD-4F44-9A6E-
A172C089D9C9.jpeg]
3460 1:07 AM
Rich New
Here is the account for the tax account
3461 1:33 AM
tammy
Ok 👍👍
3462 2:18 AM
tammy
I need a detailed payroll report like the redacted one u gave me
3463 2:25 AM
tammy
[Gusto Employee report.pdf]
3464 2:25 AM
Rich New
Ok
3465 2:25 AM
tammy
U did one like
3466 2:25 AM
tammy
That for 22
3467 2:25 AM
Rich New
I have u one
3468 2:26 AM
tammy
This idiot wants either that or
3469 2:26 AM
Rich New
I don’t know if it’s 22
3470 2:26 AM
tammy
W2
3471 2:26 AM
Rich New
I think it’s 14
3472 2:27 AM
tammy
This is like8
3473 2:30 AM
Rich New
Hold on let me find it
3474 2:53 AM
tammy
That’s the one
[LK Schedule C Copy.pdf]
3475 2:53 AM
tammy
22 employees
3476 2:54 AM
tammy
U want the amounts for each month ? Or no u going to off of
the schedule cc
3477 2:54 AM
Rich New
Ok
3478 2:54 AM
Rich New
No all good
3479 2:56 AM
tammy
Tom comming over now I told art show him the decline letter
from the eidl and it’s simple it’s 35 percent for ppp
A quick glance at the July 2020 LK Designs PPP application
submitted to Newtek Small Business Finance shows that it included a
22-employee Gusto-generated payroll report, which uses – down to the
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penny – the exact same monthly payroll cost, adjusted earnings, and
state taxes numbers over the same time period and same number
employees as at least two other applications. (See Gov’t. Exh. 3 at
1-3 (redacted).) These are the Journeyman Construction PPP
application submitted purportedly in the name of Anna M. that was
submitted from co-defendant Manuk Grigoryan’s Sun Valley residence,
and the Mykhail D. dba MD Acquisition Services EIDL application.
(Id.) The fake payroll reports sent between the co-conspirators
included purported Fiber One Media paystubs for Egia K. and Tony G.
(See Gov’t. Exh. 4 at 1-2 (filed under seal).) These reports were
texted from “tammy” to “Rich New” on or about October 9, 2020, with
the request, “Rich see if you u can print this for me on the check
paper u have at work” and “And this I keep printing doesn’t come out
good.”
The coconspirators also relied on a ready supply of new
identities to open bank accounts when existing ones were frozen or
closed due to fraud concerns. (See Mot. at 14 (T.D. iPhone Excerpt
6).) As before, defendants’ possession of the reserve identities
evidence completes the story of, and is inextricably intertwined
with, the charged conspiracies.
B.
Ninth Circuit Precedents are Squarely in Favor of the
Reserve Identities’ Evidence Admission
Defendants’ attempts to distinguish Loftis and other case
precedents rely on a misunderstanding of the underlying facts of the
case. The additional wires found to be inextricably intertwined with
the charged fraud in Loftis were not simply additional transfers of
the same exact financial transaction (e.g., the completion of a wire
request). Rather, the Ninth Circuit held that the additional wires
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were admissible and not subject to Rule 404(b) because “it is
evidence of part of the crime charged in the indictment – the overall
scheme to defraud.” Loftis, 843 F.3d at 1176 (emphasis in
original).) Although the presence of other act evidence within the
same actual transaction (e.g., possession of a firearm during a
shoot-out) does weigh in favor of admissibility, it is not a
requirement to such a finding.
The scheme and conspiracy charged in the First Superseding
Indictment includes, within its manner and means, the use and
transfer of fraudulent individual and business identities. It
includes the fraudulent use of financial accounts in names not
defendants’ own. As such, the reserve identities evidence falls
squarely within the four corners of Loftis and its holding.
Defendants’ attempts to distinguish United States v. Vizcarra-
Martinez, 66 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 1995) is similarly unavailing. The
basis for the Ninth Circuit’s exclusion of defendant’s possession of
a personal-use amount of methamphetamine was because it “was,
unquestionably, not a part of the transaction with which he was
charged . . . The prosecution presented absolutely no evidence that
the methamphetamine in question was obtained from a member of the
conspiracy or that Vizcarra-Martinez had been involved in its
manufacture or distribution.” Id. at 1013. The facts of the instant
case are starkly different. In contrast to the facts of Vizcarra-
Martinez, the reason why the government seeks to introduce the
reserve identities evidence is because of how it was used and
exchanged between members of the conspiracy, and its importance in
being able to explain to the jury how the overall conspiracy
operated.
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C.
The Reserve Identities Evidence is Inextricably Intertwined
with the Same Scheme and Conspiracy for which Defendants
Paronyan and V. Dadyan are Charged and are Therefore
Admissible Against Them
Defendant Paronyan and V. Dadyan’s argument that Rule 404(b)
prohibits the introduction of the reserve identities evidence against
him avoids engaging with the threshold inquiry as to whether Rule
404(b) applies. As discussed above, evidence is inextricably
intertwined when introduction of that evidence is necessary to tell a
clear and comprehensible story and the acts are part of a single,
criminal episode. United States v. Anderson, 741 F.3d 938, 949 (9th
Cir. 2013) (quoting United States v. Dorsey, 677 F.3d 944, 951 (9th
Cir. 2012)).
Defendant Paronyan directly benefited from charged fraud
conspiracy and scheme through the May 2020 submission of a $130,187
PPP application on behalf of Redline Auto Collision, which was
submitted in Paronyan’s name. The PPP application asserted defendant
had 12 employees with an average monthly payroll cost of $52,075.25.
(See Gov’t. Exh. 5 at 1 (redacted).) As a result of this loan
$130,187 in PPP proceeds were wired to an account controlled by
Paronyan. However, only about one month prior, an EIDL application
had been submitted, also on behalf of Redline Auto Collision and in
Paronyan’s name, claiming the company had only 4 employees. (See
Gov’t. Exh. 5 at 5 (relevant portions magnified and highlighted for
ease of review).)
What is striking about Paronyan’s PPP application is not just
the fact that over a single month Paronyan’s business tripled its
employees in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime economic disaster.
What is also striking is that the 12-employee Gusto generated payroll
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report submitted for Redline Auto Collision had – to the penny – the
same average monthly payroll cost, the same adjusted earnings, the
same taxes, benefits, and the same number of employees for the same
exact dates as: (1) the Fiber One Media, Inc. PPP application
submitted in the name of Viktoria Kauikchko (application number
16289241); (2) the Mod Interiors, Inc. PPP application submitted in
the name of A.I. (application number 16173818); and (3) the Hart
Construction PPP application submitted in the name of identity theft
victim M.H. (application number 16031166). (See Gov’t. Exh. 5 at 2-
4.) This is because – as discussed above for other PPP and EIDL
applications – members of the conspiracy like R. Ayvazyan and T.
Dadyan repeatedly used the same falsified Gusto payroll reports to
support fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications. (See Mot. at 15 and
Exh. 3 (previously filed under seal).) The Redline Auto Collision
PPP application shows that defendant Paronyan participated in, and
benefitted from, the PPP fraud scheme and conspiracy and therefore,
acts in furtherance of that conspiracy are admissible against him.
The same is true for defendant V. Dadyan. Defendants like
T. Dadyan relied on coconspirators like V. Dadyan to receive PPP
proceeds and fraudulently transfer those proceeds to other accounts
for impermissible purposes (e.g., not actual payroll or operational
expenses). For example, PPP and bank records show that co-defendant
Vahe Dadyan received a $157,500 PPP loan for his company, Voyage
Limo, into a Voyage Limo account for which he was the sole signatory.
(See Gov’t. Exh. 6 at 1 (line 2 of table) and 3-6 (filed under
seal).) On or about July 3, 2020, the same day “tammy” texted “Rich
New” that “I’m expecting a wire for Art for $73,500 / And for me
$157,” approximately $155,000 was transferred from the Voyage Limo
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account into the Runyan Tax Bank 2 account controlled by T. Dadyan.
(See Mot. at 18 (T.D. iPhone Excerpt 7) and Gov’t. Exh. 6 at 2.) It
was only after these transfers that “tammy” and “Rich New” discussed
ways in which they could wire “Vahe” at least $25,000 per attempted
transfer. (See Mot. at 18-19 (T.D. iPhone Excerpt 7).)
D.
The Reserve Identities Evidence is Admissible under Rule
404(b)
As discussed in its original motion, even if this Court does not
find the reserve identities evidence admissible as inextricably
intertwined, it should still be admissible under the “low threshold”
of Rule 404(b). As discussed in this motion, defendant relied on a
pre-existing reserve of individual and business identities and tools
of fraud to perpetrate the charged offenses. Their possession of
this evidence shows opportunity, knowledge, intent, plan, and absence
of mistake that all lean in favor of inclusion. United States v. Vo,
413 F.3d 1010, 1018 (9th Cir. 2005) and United States v. Romero, 282
F.3d 683, 688 (9th Cir. 2002).
III. CONCLUSION
For the aforementioned reasons, the government respectfully
requests the Court grant the government’s motion and find the reserve
identities evidence admissible as inextricably intertwined with the
charged offenses.
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