Citrus Heights Man Arrested in Credit Card Scam

A Citrus Heights man faces charges of credit fraud and money laundering in a 36-count indictment, a federal court attorney announced Wednesday.

According to an announcement made by United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner, Oganes Serobyan, 40, was arrested Wednesday for a credit card fraud scheme and money laundering, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

On Feb. 14, 2013, a federal grand jury returned a 36-count indictment that was unsealed after Serobyan’s arrest, according to a statement released by the United States Department of Justice.

According to the indictment, in November 2009, Serobyan established a sham business, Link & Work Holdings LLC, which purported to sell “e-books” online.

Here's the statement from the DOJ:

Between November 2010 and May 2011, the company unlawfully obtained American Express charge card numbers and made tens of thousands of unauthorized charges on them that were ultimately credited to Link & Work Holdings’ bank account. More than 26,000 American Express account numbers were unlawfully charged during the scheme. At least $390,000 fraudulent charges were attempted, resulting in the Link and Work Holdings account receiving at least $270,000 from American Express. Many customers complained about the unauthorized transactions, and American Express closed Link and Work Holdings’ merchant account.

The indictment alleges that Serobyan subsequently withdrew that money from the company’s bank account in amounts designed to avoid federal currency reporting requirements.

If convicted, Serobyan faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Serobyan is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 22, 2013.