Five people, including a former Armenian consul, have been arrested in alleged schemes to block the deportation of illegal immigrants convicted of murder and other serious crimes, federal immigration officials announced Tuesday.
The defendants allegedly obtained letters from the Armenian Consulate in Los Angeles and then sold them -- for as much as $35,000 each -- to at least two dozen convicted criminals facing deportation, officials said. The letters, which were sent to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the Armenian government could not verify that the immigrants were citizens and therefore could not let them back into the country.
Unable to deport the immigrants, U.S. officials were forced to release them. By law, the immigration agency cannot keep criminals in detention for more than six months beyond their prison sentences if deportation is unlikely.
The immigrants who received the "letters of refusal" had been convicted of murder, attempted murder, robbery and other crimes, officials said.
"It's a great scheme," said Jennifer Silliman, deputy special agent in charge of the immigration agency's Los Angeles office. "You have got these career criminals, many of whom are violent, circumventing the system and essentially buying themselves a place in the United States."
Grigor Hovhannissian, Armenia's consul general in Los Angeles, said he and others within the Armenian government were committed to cooperating with U.S. authorities in the ongoing investigation.
"It is in our vital interest to sort this out," he said. "It does tremendous harm to the prestige of our country."
Hovhannissian said his predecessor, Norair Ghalumian, had not been part of the government for several years but allegedly was handling consular duties on his own.
"Outside of his professional duties, he may have been offering services that were totally illegal," he said.
Ghalumian, 52, was consul from 1999 to 2003, according to U.S. officials. The other defendants included Hakop Hovanesyan, 54, a former employee of the consulate; Margarita Mkrtchyan, 41, a Beverly Hills attorney; Oganes Nardos, 36, a substance abuse counselor; and Elvis Madatyan, 47, who owns an auto body business and a bakery.
