Four members and associates of the Armenian Power gang, as well as four other defendants, have pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, drug-trafficking and illegal possession of firearms.

The eight defendants are among 70 people who were charged two years ago in a 140-count indictment that outlined the criminal activities of the Armenian Power gang. The racketeering count in the indictment alleges numerous illegal activities, such as sophisticated fraud schemes involving identity theft, bank fraud, credit card skimming, counterfeit checks and money laundering. The indictment also alleged violent crimes, such as extortion, kidnapping and firearms offenses.

The racketeering indictment alleges a bank fraud and identity theft scheme that victimized hundreds of customers of 99 Cents Only Stores across Southern California.  The defendants caused more than $2 million in losses when they secretly installed “skimming” devices to steal customer debit card account information at cash registers, and then used the skimmed information to create counterfeit debit cards.

The eight defendants who recently pleaded guilty are Simon Antonyan, 38, of Hollywood, who pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft; Karo Yerkanyan, 32, of Tujunga, who pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, and felon in possession of a firearm; Arman Tangabekyan, 34, of Encino, who pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft; and Artur Pembejian, 36, of Burbank, who pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy. Also convicted were Raymond Tarverdyan, 35, of Montrose, who pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and bank fraud; Khachatur Arakelyan, 39, of Glendale, who pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft; Vartenie Ananian, 29, of Tujunga, who pleaded guilty to bank fraud; and Adam Davoodian, 32, of Glendale, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. Tarverdyan —along with Antonyan, Arakelyan and Ananian — participated in the scheme to secretly install the skimming devices at the 99 Cents Only Stores. The Armenian Power street gang formed in East Hollywood in the 1980s. The defendants who recently pleaded guilty are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 25.