Government’s Response to Presentence Investigation Report for Marietta Terabelian (No. 2:20-cr-00579)

Summary

Government's Response to Presentence Investigation Report for Marietta Terabelian, Document 965, filed September 13, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, No. 2:20-cr-579(A)-SVW, with sentencing set for October 4, 2021. The government states that it concurs in the findings of the report and responds primarily to correct or clarify listed items. These include that Terabelian was arrested on October 20, 2020, not October 21, and that Terabelian and R. Ayvazyan removed location monitoring bracelets and absconded together from supervision. The response also addresses grouping of counts under U.S.S.G. § 3D1.2 and agrees that a two-level increase is warranted. The signature block names Catherine Ahn, Scott Paetty, Brian Faerstein and Christopher Fenton.

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     Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW Document 965 Filed 09/13/21 Page 1 of 8 Page ID #:16487



1     TRACY L. WILKISON
      Acting United States Attorney
2     SCOTT M. GARRINGER
      Assistant United States Attorney
3     Chief, Criminal Division
      SCOTT PAETTY (Cal. Bar No. 274719)
4     CATHERINE AHN (Cal. Bar No. 248286)
      BRIAN FAERSTEIN (Cal. Bar No. 274850)
5     Assistant United States Attorneys
      Major Frauds/Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Sections
6          1100/1300 United States Courthouse
           312 North Spring Street
7          Los Angeles, California 90012
           Telephone: (213) 894-6527/2424/3819
8          Facsimile: (213) 894-6269/0141
           E-mail:    Scott.Paetty@usdoj.gov
9                     Catherine.S.Ahn@usdoj.gov
                      Brian.Faerstein@usdoj.gov
10
      JOSEPH S. BEEMSTERBOER
11    Acting Chief, Fraud Section
      Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
12    CHRISTOPHER FENTON
      Trial Attorney, Fraud Section
13    Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice
           1400 New York Avenue NW, 3rd Floor
14         Washington, DC 20530
           Telephone: (202) 320-0539
15         Facsimile: (202) 514-0152
           E-mail:   Christopher.Fenton@usdoj.gov
16
      Attorneys for Plaintiff
17    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

18                            UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

19                      FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

20    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,                No. 2:20-cr-579(A)-SVW

21               Plaintiff,                    GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO
                                               PRESENTENCE INVESTIGATION
22                     v.                      REPORT FOR MARIETTA TERABELIAN
23    RICHARD AYVAZYAN,
        aka “Richard Avazian” and              Sentencing: October 4, 2021
24          “Iuliia Zhadko,”                   Time:       11:00 a.m.
      MARIETTA TERABELIAN,                     Location:   Courtroom of the
25      aka “Marietta Abelian” and                         Hon. Stephen V. Wilson
            “Viktoria Kauichko,”
26    ARTUR AYVAZYAN,
        aka “Arthur Ayvazyan,” and
27    TAMARA DADYAN,
      MANUK GRIGORYAN,
28      aka “Mike Grigoryan,” and
     Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW Document 965 Filed 09/13/21 Page 2 of 8 Page ID #:16488



1           “Anton Kudiumov,”
      ARMAN HAYRAPETYAN,
2     EDVARD PARONYAN,
        aka “Edvard Paronian” and
3           “Edward Paronyan,” and
      VAHE DADYAN,
4
                  Defendant.
5

6          Plaintiff United States of America, by and through its counsel
7     of record, the Acting United States Attorney for the Central District
8     of California, Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Paetty,
9     Catherine Ahn, and Brian Faerstein, and Department of Justice Trial
10    Attorney Christopher Fenton, hereby files its an initial response,
11    pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(f), to the
12    Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”), prepared by the United
13    States Probation and Pretrial Services Office (“Probation”), for
14    defendant Marietta Terabelian (ECF 890).
15         The government concurs in the findings of the PSR for Terabelian
16    and respectfully submits this response primarily to correct or
17    clarify the following:
18            •   The section titled “Release Status” on page 2 should be
19                corrected to state that Terabelian was arrested on October
20                20, 2020, not October 21, and that her total aggregate bond
21                amount is $175,000, consisting of a $75,000 corporate
22                surety bond and a $100,000 appearance bond (ECF 44, 45).
23            •   Paragraph 8 under the section titled “Pretrial Adjustment”
24                should be updated to reflect the fact that on August 29,
25                2021, Terabelian and her husband and co-defendant Richard
26                Ayvazyan (“R. Ayvazyan”) removed their location monitoring
27                bracelets and absconded together from supervision; on
28                August 30, 2021, Judge Stephen V. Wilson signed bench
                                              2
     Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW Document 965 Filed 09/13/21 Page 3 of 8 Page ID #:16489



1                 warrants for Terabelian and R. Ayvazyan’s arrest; and, as

2                 of the date of this filing, Terabelian and R. Ayvazyan

3                 remain fugitives at large.

4             •   Paragraphs 9, 10, an 15 under the section titled “Co-
5                 Defendants” should be corrected to state that co-defendants

6                 R. Ayvazyan, Artur Ayvazyan and Vahe Dadyan were found

7                 guilty by jury trial on June 25, 2021, not June 28.

8             •   Paragraph 26 under the section titled “The Conspiracy”
9                 should be corrected to state the alleged conspiracy

10                continued “through at least August 2020,” not “through July

11                2020.”

12            •   Footnote 3 under the section titled “The Conspiracy” should
13                be corrected to state that “T. Dadyan texted R. Ayvazyan,”

14                not “T. Dadyan texted A. Ayvazyan.”

15            •   Paragraphs 33, 34, and 36 under the section titled “The
16                Conspiracy” should be corrected to state “T. DADYAN,

17                TERABELIAN and their co-conspirators”, not “TERABELIAN and

18                her co-conspirators”; these paragraphs should also be

19                corrected to state “submitted and caused to be submitted”,

20                not “submitted” or “withdrew or caused to withdraw”, not

21                “withdrew”.

22            •   Paragraphs 41 and 43 under the section titled “The
23                Conspiracy” should be corrected to state “submitted and

24                caused to be submitted”, not “submitted”; these paragraphs

25                should also be corrected to refer to “Redline Auto

26                Collision”, not “Redline Auto Mechanics”.

27

28

                                              3
     Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW Document 965 Filed 09/13/21 Page 4 of 8 Page ID #:16490



1             •   Paragraph 44 under the section titled “The Conspiracy”
2                 should be corrected to refer to “Grigoryan”, not
3                 “Paronyan”.
4             •   Paragraph 48 under the section titled “The Conspiracy”
5                 should be corrected to state “submitted and caused to be
6                 submitted”, not “submitted”.
7             •   Paragraph 55 under the section titled “The Conspiracy”
8                 should be corrected to state “submitted and caused to be
9                 submitted”, not “submitted”.
10            •   Paragraphs 70, 77, 88, and 143 should be corrected to state
11                that the actual amount of loan funds obtained by Terabelian

12                and her co-conspirators was $16,907,071.26, not

13                $17,029,484.26, as set forth in the updated information

14                provided by the government to Probation via email on

15                September 8, 2021.     Moreover, the actual amount of loan

16                funds obtained from Radius Bank should be corrected to

17                state zero, not $122,413.       Accordingly, the number of

18                financial lenders from which Terabelian and her co-
19                conspirators actually obtained loan funds should be

20                corrected to state 12, not 13.

21            •   The second sentence of each of paragraphs 72 and 73 under
22                the section titled “Arrest of the Defendant” contain

23                references to information obtained by U.S. Customs and

24                Border Protection during the manual search of certain

25                phones that were in the possession of R. Ayvazyan and

26                Terabelian during the border stop.       This information was

27                the subject of a motion to suppress, which the Court

28                granted (ECF 296), and therefore should not be included in

                                              4
     Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW Document 965 Filed 09/13/21 Page 5 of 8 Page ID #:16491



1                 the PSR or otherwise used in connection with Terabelian’s

2                 sentencing.   To be clear, the seized credit cards described

3                 in the first sentence of each of paragraphs 72 and 73 were

4                 not implicated by the Court’s suppression order, and thus

5                 the references to the credit cards should remain in the

6                 PSR.

7             •   Paragraph 74 under the section titled “Search of the
8                 Residences” states that law enforcement conducted a search

9                 of “an apartment under Grigoryan’s control in Woodland

10                Hills”.   Based on the evidence presented at trial, this

11                apartment – which was located at 6150 Canoga Avenue, Unit

12                337 – was also under the control of R. Ayvazyan and

13                Terabelian.   Specifically, the evidence showed that, among

14                other things, at the time of her arrest, Terabelian was in

15                physical possession of a credit card in the name of

16                “Viktoria Kauichko” that had been used to the pay the rent

17                for this apartment which was leased in the name of

18                “Viktoria Kauichko”. (Govt Trial Exhibit (“GEX”) 44, 76,

19                88.)

20            •   Paragraph 75 under the section titled “The Defendant’s
21                Conduct Regarding Obstruction of Justice” should be

22                corrected to state October 20, 2020, not October 21.

23                Moreover, the quote should be corrected to state “[R.

24                Ayvazyan] and I were caught ... found a card or [I] don’t

25                know what ... you know the charges ... clean the house as

26                much as you can ....”

27            •   The quote in paragraph 76 under the section titled “The
28                Defendant’s Conduct Regarding Obstruction of Justice”

                                              5
     Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW Document 965 Filed 09/13/21 Page 6 of 8 Page ID #:16492



1                 should be corrected to state “Tell mom me and [R. Ayvazyan]

2                 are both at the Miami Jail ... tell them so they know ...

3                 and try to clean, clean the house as much as you can,

4                 everything ... And whoever calls, whatever they say, you

5                 shouldn’t say anything to anyone.”

6             •   The quote in paragraph 78 under the section titled
7                 “Adjustment for Obstruction of Justice” should be corrected

8                 such that “could” should be changed to “can”.

9             •   The Adjustment for Obstruction of Justice, described in
10                paragraphs 78 and 95, is also appropriate for two

11                independent reasons not yet reflected in the PSR.          First,

12                Terabelian absconded weeks before her October 4, 2021
13                sentencing hearing.     Application Note 4(E) provides that
14                “escaping or attempting to escape from custody before trial
15                or sentencing” is an example of the type of conduct covered
16                by the Obstruction Adjustment.       Second, on November 4,
17                2020, as law enforcement approached the residence at 4910
18                Topeka Drive to execute a search warrant, TERABELIAN ran
19                from the kitchen of the residence into the back yard and

20                stashed a grocery bag containing nearly $500,000 in cash in

21                the bushes behind the house.      Terabelian’s efforts to hide

22                the cash from then-approaching law enforcement were

23                captured in video taken by a drone over the location and

24                photographs taken by law enforcement at the scene.          See

25                DOJ_PROD_0000021407; DOJ_PROD_0000022573 -

26                DOJ_PROD_0000022575. Application Note 4(D) provides that

27                “conceal[ing] evidence that is material to an official

28                investigation or judicial proceeding (e.g., shredding a

                                              6
     Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW Document 965 Filed 09/13/21 Page 7 of 8 Page ID #:16493



1                 document or destroying ledgers upon learning that an

2                 official investigation has commenced or is about to

3                 commence), or attempting to do so” is the type of conduct

4                 covered by the Obstruction Adjustment.        Significantly, this

5                 conduct did not take place contemporaneous with

6                 TERABELIAN’s arrest; to the contrary, it took place two

7                 weeks following Terabelian’s arrest.

8             •   The government agrees that the counts described in
9                 paragraphs 84 and 85 all group under the “Groups of Closely

10                Related Counts” rules set forth in U.S.S.G. § 3D1.2.

11                However, the government believes these counts of conviction

12                are more appropriately grouped under § 3D1.2(d) as opposed

13                to § 3D1.2(b) because the offense level for those counts of

14                conviction “is determined largely on the basis of the total

15                amount of harm or loss.”

16            •   The government agrees that the counts described in
17                paragraph 86 all group under the “Groups of Closely Related

18                Counts” rules set forth in U.S.S.G. § 3D1.2.         However, the

19                government believes that, in addition to § 3D1.2(d), these

20                counts of conviction also may be appropriately grouped

21                under § 3D1.2(c) which applies “when one of the counts

22                embodies conduct that is treated as a specific offense

23                characteristic in, or other adjustment to, the guideline

24                applicable to another of the counts.”        See U.S.S.G.

25                § 2S1.1, App. Note 6 (“In a case in which the defendant is

26                convicted of a count of laundering funds and a count for

27                the underlying offense from which the laundered funds were

28

                                              7
     Case 2:20-cr-00579-SVW Document 965 Filed 09/13/21 Page 8 of 8 Page ID #:16494



1                derived, the counts shall be grouped pursuant to subsection

2                (c) of §3D1.2 (Groups of Closely-Related Counts).”).

3             • Footnote 11 states “If the Court does not conclude that a
4                two-level increase is warranted under [USSG §2B1.1(b)(10)

5                for “sophisticated means”], the Probation Officer maintains

6                that the conduct described may warrant a two-level increase

7                pursuant to USSG §2S1.1(b)(3) for sophisticated

8                laundering.”     The government agrees that a two-level
9                increase is warranted – either pursuant to USSG

10               §2B1.1(b)(10) for “sophisticated means” or USSG

11               §2S1.1(b)(3) for “sophisticated laundering” – as the

12               evidence summarized in the PSR clearly supports the

13               application of both enhancements.

14     Dated: September 13, 2021           Respectfully submitted,

15                                         TRACY L. WILKISON
                                           Acting United States Attorney
16
                                           SCOTT M. GARRINGER
17                                         Assistant United States Attorney
                                           Chief, Criminal Division
18
                                                 /s/
19                                         CATHERINE AHN
                                           SCOTT PAETTY
20                                         BRIAN FAERSTEIN
                                           Assistant United States Attorneys
21                                         CHRISTOPHER FENTON
                                           Department of Justice Trial Attorney
22
                                           Attorneys for Plaintiff
23                                         UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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