32-Year-Old Resident of Agarak City Defrauded 73 Individuals, Theft Amounting to 300 Million Drams

A 32-year-old resident of Agarak city in the Syunik province has committed more than seventy thefts using the same scheme of deception.

The Investigative Committee has published details of the fraud, which involved the theft of around 300 million drams from various individuals.

During the investigation, it was revealed that between 2020 and 2021, the man approached random passersby in the streets of Yerevan, Yeghegnadzor, Ejmiatsin, Charentsavan, and Abovyan, noticing gold jewelry around their necks or hands. To gain their trust and steal their jewelry, he devised an entire scenario.

“He approached these individuals, presenting himself as a close friend or relative, mostly as a family member, and to gain their trust, asked them to call their relatives, speak with them over the phone, and reinforce the victims' confidence in him. After the phone conversation, he would either take the victims to a café or take the jewelry on the pretext of showing it to a jeweler friend and then never returned,” the Investigative Committee reported.

There were also instances where the 32-year-old man approached strangers on the streets, gained their trust, and requested the loan of their mobile phones under the guise of needing them to talk to their relatives. Taking advantage of the opportunity and the individuals' inattentiveness, he left with the stolen phones. In some cases, he would distract the victims and pull gold chains off their necks before fleeing.

In another instance, he posed as the owner of a “Mercedes” vehicle, agreeing to sell the car for 500,000 drams. He then claimed that the keys to the car were with another person as a debt and asked for 300,000 drams to retrieve them, promising to pay the remaining amount during the vehicle registration change. After receiving the money, he deceived the citizen and left.

Based on gathered evidence, charges were filed against the 32-year-old man under several points of Articles 253 (robbery) and 254 (theft) of the RA Criminal Code. As a measure of restraint, he was detained. The total property damage suffered by the 73 victims due to the man's actions amounts to approximately 300 million drams.

To secure legal guarantees for the recovery of the damages, the prosecuting authority imposed a ban on the defendant's real estate and movable property.