USA v. Ayvazyan et al — Edvard Paronyan filings, C.D. Cal.

Case summary

Edvard Paronyan was a defendant in United States v. Ayvazyan et al., No. 2:20-cr-00579-SVW, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He pleaded guilty and was convicted as charged of wire fraud, aiding and abetting, under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and 18 U.S.C. § 2(a), as charged in Count Six of the First Superseding Indictment. The judgment and probation/commitment order of September 30, 2021 committed him to the Bureau of Prisons for thirty months, with three years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment and restitution of $430,087 under 18 U.S.C. § 3663A, split between Celtic Bank ($130,187) and the U.S. Small Business Administration ($299,900). All remaining counts and the underlying indictment were dismissed. An amended judgment carrying the same terms was entered January 12, 2022.

Case at a glance

What was Paronyan sentenced to?

Thirty months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, followed by three years of supervised release, with a recommendation that he be designated to a facility in the Southern California area. Bond was exonerated upon surrender.

What restitution was ordered?

A total of $430,087 under 18 U.S.C. § 3663A, recorded as a $130,187 loss to Celtic Bank and a $299,900 loss to the U.S. Small Business Administration, with a partial payment of $15,000 due immediately and the balance payable at not less than $25 per quarter during imprisonment through the Bureau of Prisons' Inmate Financial Responsibility Program.

What did the defense say about the loans?

Its sentencing memorandum of September 13, 2021 states that Paronyan "mistakenly and improperly obtained more PPP and EIDL loans than his legitimate business was lawfully entitled to", and that the other defendants in the case were part of a conspiracy involving fake identities and businesses and obtained far larger sums.

Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.