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Richard Ayvazyan

Executive

PPP · EIDL
Type
Person
Role
Executive
Programs
PPP, EIDL
Updated

The profile

Encino man convicted at trial in June 2021 as one of the two principal organizers of an eight-defendant Los Angeles ring that used fake, stolen and synthetic identities to seek more than $20 million in PPP and EIDL loans; he absconded before sentencing, was sentenced in absentia to 17 years, and was extradited from Montenegro in November 2022.

Identity and role

Richard Ayvazyan, also known as "Richard Avazian" and "Iuliia Zhadko," lived in Encino, California, according to the indictment. He was 42 when charged and 43 at sentencing, per the Justice Department. He is defendant 1 in United States v. Ayvazyan et al., No. 2:20-cr-00579-SVW (C.D. Cal.). His co-defendants included his wife, Marietta Terabelian; his brother, Artur Ayvazyan; and Artur's wife, Tamara Dadyan. The Ninth Circuit described him and Tamara Dadyan as the conspiracy's "two principal organizers."

Biography / career arc

The court record ties him to a company, Runyan Tax Service, Inc. The original indictment charges that on or about July 13, 2020, he and Terabelian, using her alias "Viktoria Kauichko," applied to a lender for a $276,653 PPP loan in Runyan Tax Service's name, claiming 22 employees, and backed it with a fraudulent California driver's license in the fake name. The Ninth Circuit later described a Runyan Tax Service account "controlled by Richard" receiving transfers of other co-conspirators' loan money labeled "payroll."

The case / pandemic-relief role

According to DOJ, the defendants used dozens of fake, stolen or synthetic identities, including names of elderly or deceased people and of foreign exchange students who had briefly visited the United States years earlier, to apply for about 150 PPP and EIDL loans. They supported the applications with fake identity documents, tax documents and payroll records, and sought more than $20 million. The superseding indictment put it at "at least 151" applications seeking at least $21.9 million from the SBA and at least 11 financial institutions, with at least $18 million received.

DOJ says the money went into down payments on luxury homes in Tarzana, Glendale and Palm Desert, and into gold coins, diamonds, jewelry, luxury watches, fine imported furnishings, designer handbags, clothing and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Their own relief

The record does not separate his personal loans from the ring's. The first indictment alleged that the four original defendants received at least $4.6 million, and that some applications were filed in their own names for fake or fictitious businesses. On December 27, 2021, the court held him jointly and severally liable with Terabelian, Artur Ayvazyan and Tamara Dadyan for $17,723,141.26 in restitution, and entered a $1,393,300 money judgment of forfeiture against him alone.

  • Arrested: in Miami on October 20, 2020, with Terabelian (DOJ).
  • Indicted: November 17, 2020; first superseding indictment March 9, 2021, adding four defendants.
  • Convicted: by a jury on June 25, 2021, after an eight-day trial: conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud, eight counts of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of aggravated identity theft. On June 28 the jury found that he and Terabelian must forfeit bank accounts, jewelry, watches, gold coins, three residential properties and about $450,000 in cash. DOJ called it the first pandemic-relief fraud case in the country to go to trial.
  • Absconded: he and Terabelian allegedly cut their tracking bracelets on August 29, 2021 and went on the run while awaiting sentencing (DOJ).
  • Sentenced in absentia: November 15, 2021, by U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson: 17 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a $50,000 fine, with a leader/organizer enhancement, per the government's later filing. DOJ quoted the judge calling him "an endemic, cold-hearted fraudster with no regard for the law" who "views fraud as an achievement."
  • Extradited: from Montenegro to the United States in November 2022, as was Terabelian (DOJ).
  • Post-conviction: on December 8, 2022, through counsel, he moved to vacate his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (No. 2:22-cv-8915), alleging government misconduct including "a pretextual border stop."

Where they are now (2025–2026)

His lawyer filed a reply in support of the § 2255 motion on February 24, 2023. We have no copy of a ruling on the motion or of a Bureau of Prisons record for him.

Sources held in this archive

Case filings on this site

Sources

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