A California couple is on the run after being convicted of a $21 million COVID-19 relief scam.
The couple, awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of scamming the government out of millions of COVID-19 relief funds, allegedly cut off their monitoring bracelets and got out of Dodge. Richard Ayvazyas, 43, and his wife, 37-year-old Marietta Terabelian, used money from the Paycheck Protection and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program to put down payments on luxury homes in Tarzana, Glendale and Palm Desert, CBS Los Angeles.
The couple was scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 4. in Los Angeles federal court. But they’ve been missing since Sunday.
“(Corrected) Richard Ayvazyan, 43, & Marietta Terabelian, 37, were found guilty in $21 million bank/SBA fraud & are set to be sentenced. The pair allegedly cut monitoring bracelets & are considered fugitives. Please call 3104776565 if you have info as to their location #TipTuesday,” the FBI department in Los Angeles wrote in a tweet.
The couple used fake identities to submit bogus applications for the loans; they added fraudulent tax and payroll documents to lenders and the Small Business Administration. The couple also used some money to buy diamonds, designer clothes and shoes, among other items.
