Inmates from Several Prisons Steal Large Amounts of Property Through Fraud While Incarcerated

Several inmates from the 'Nubarashen', 'Hrazdan', 'Sevan', and 'Prisoners Hospital' penal institutions committed fraud in a coordinated manner, stealing large amounts of property belonging to various business entities. This was reported by the press service of the RA Investigative Committee, mentioning the assistance of a 45-year-old resident of Yerevan.

Charges have been brought against several individuals. The Investigative Committee of Armenia has found that inmates of the 'Nubarashen', 'Hrazdan', 'Sevan', and 'Prisoners Hospital’ penal institutions, by illegal means, used numerous mobile phones and subscriber cards registered in the names of other individuals, and in collusion with each other and with several yet unidentified citizens at large, carried out numerous thefts of particularly large amounts of property belonging to business entities within the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

In May 2017, a 37-year-old inmate at the 'Nubarashen' penal institution contacted a fellow inmate at the 'Hrazdan' penal institution via mobile phone, offering to establish a limited liability company using someone else’s information, named after a reputable business within the entrepreneurial community in Armenia. According to preliminary data, the inmate at 'Hrazdan' prison, unaware of his acquaintance’s actual intentions, subsequently asked a former inmate from the same institution to register a limited liability company in the state register of legal entities, whose documents and seal were transferred through intermediaries by the inmate at 'Nubarashen' to the person indicated.

After this, the inmate from 'Nubarashen' obtained agreement with an inmate from 'Sevan' prison, as well as with like-minded individuals residing in Yerevan and various regions, to gather information about drivers engaged in cargo transportation and business activities, and then presented themselves as representatives of reputable companies in Armenia, negotiating on product prices, quality, and quantity with numerous firms to gain their trust, ultimately forging agreements for cash purchases of the products. Subsequently, these products, under the guise of transactions from the established limited liability company, were illegally transferred to other locations, resulting in theft.

The investigation has revealed that a 45-year-old resident of Yerevan collaborated with the inmates in one instance of theft. Furthermore, a 37-year-old man, while having been released by a decision of the court of general jurisdiction in Yerevan in connection with the same criminal case, evaded prosecution and hid from the investigating body, and since July 20, 2020, was wanted, committing new instances of the aforementioned public-dangerous act, during one of which he was discovered and detained by law enforcement.

Based on the sufficient evidence gathered, charges have been filed against the inmate from the 'Nubarashen' penal institution under Article 178, part 3, clause 1 of the RA Criminal Code, Article 34-178, part 3, clause 1, Article 178, part 2, clauses 1 and 2 (7 instances), Article 178, part 2, clause 1, and Article 325, part 2 (5 instances). He has been placed in custody. Charges have also been filed against the inmate from 'Sevan' penal institution and the 45-year-old woman under Article 178, part 3, clause 1 of the RA Criminal Code. A signature not to leave has been chosen as a preventive measure against her.

The cases against these three defendants have been separated and isolated into a separate proceeding, the investigation has been completed, and the criminal case has been sent to court with an accusatory conclusion. Necessary investigative, other procedural, and operational-search measures are underway to identify other individuals cooperating with the inmates and provide a legal assessment of their actions.