Men arrested for skimming scam at Coachella Valley gas stations

Two Coachella Valley gas stations were among the Southern California locations where members of an alleged crime ring set up high-tech skimmers on fuel pumps to obtain credit card information from unwitting customers, federal authorities said today.

Nazar Daniyelyan, 47, of Sun Valley, and Anthony Tngryan, 26, of Van Nuys, were among eight men named in a criminal complaint filed today in Los Angeles federal court, alleging a scheme to secretly install electronic devices known as skimmers at gas pumps that were equipped with point-of-sale terminals.

Danieyelyan was arrested today, while Tngryan is being sought by authorities.

On Dec. 7 of last year, investigators mounted a GPS tracking device on a vehicle being used by Daniyelyan and Tngryan, and followed them to a 76 Station at 40010 Washington St. in Bermuda Dunes, and a Valero location at 70255 Highway 111, in Rancho Mirage, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Bilal A. Essayli.

The men later went to Morongo Casino, where they were captured on surveillance footage that allowed federal agents to make identifications.

The devices were found and removed by authorities about two weeks after they were installed at the two Coachella Valley locations.

Essayli said the investigation is still at an early stage and it was not immediately known how many customers of the local stations were victimized.

“Skimmers were recovered from both of these locations,” the federal prosecutor said. “We will try to identify all victims.”

When gas station customers swiped their credit or debit cards through the device that reads the magnetic strips on the back of their cards, the information was stored on the skimmers that were hidden inside the gas pumps, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to an affidavit in the case, members of the conspiracy were able to later retrieve the account information without going back inside the gas pumps by using Bluetooth-equipped devices, such as cellular phones or tablets.

Prosecutors said the skimmers were manufactured with parts purchased at electronics stores, including circuit boards, soldering equipment, glue guns, electrical tape and wires.

Dozens of the devices were found at gas stations in San Gabriel, Burbank, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Eagle Rock, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Torrance, Long Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Tustin, Fountain Valley, the Coachella Valley and Las Vegas, authorities said.

During installation, the defendants used large vans to conceal their activities as they forced open panels on the gas pumps and placed the devices so they were not visible to customers who used their credit cards at the pumps, according to the complaint.

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing and had no estimate of the losses that may be associated with the stolen credit card information.

In conjunction with the arrests, investigators executed a series of search warrants, finding materials at one location indicating that members of the organization were manufacturing counterfeit credit cards, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In addition to Daniyelyan, the defendants arrested Wednesday are:

— Ruben Karapetyan, 39, of Porter Ranch;

— Grigor Pambukyan, 26, of Van Nuys; and

— Arsen Terzyan, 32, of Van Nuys.

The fugitives are Armen Khalulyan, 30, hometown not available; Arutyan Oganyan, 41, of North Hollywood; and Tngryan.

Oganes Tagaryan, 23, whose hometown was not provided, is expected to surrender to authorities in the near future, officials said.

The defendants are charged with conspiracy to possess 15 or more unauthorized access devices, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

“Identity theft causes significant harm to individuals as well as imposing costs on society overall,” said Eileen M. Decker, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles. “Members of the public are entitled to use their credit and debit cards at gas stations without fear that their identities could be stolen.”

She added: “The collective consequence of such criminal activity is that thousands of people have had their personal information compromised and now they must undertake substantial efforts to protect their identities.”

If any member of the public has information concerning the fugitives in this case, they are urged to contact the Secret Service at (213) 533-4400.