March 14, 2017
A May 22 sentencing date has been set for a former manager of a Wells Fargo branch in Glendale who used fake accounts to launder money linked to a $1.6 million mass-mailing scam targeting trademark applicants. Albert Yagubyan, 37, of Burbank was convicted of federal charges of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, money laundering and false bank entries, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The scam operated from 2013 to 2015 when scheme mastermind Artashes Darbinyan, using mass mailings from bogus companies called the Trademark Compliance Office and the Trademark Compliance Center, offered trademark registration and monitoring services to trademark holders who had recently registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. For a $385 fee, the companies promised to monitor for possible infringement and send reports to the client. Instead, Darbinyan opened bogus accounts, in which he and co-defendant Orbel Hakobyan deposited or cashed checks sent by the trademark holders.