Man who stole over $800,000 in COVID relief fund scheme gets prison time

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LOS ANGELES - A San Fernando Valley man was sentenced to over eight years in prison and ordered to pay restitution for running a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $800,000 in COVID relief funds, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Robert Mirumyan admitted to overseeing a scheme that used stolen identities to apply for COVID-era unemployment insurance benefits. He pled guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

From 2020 through August 2021, Mirumyan used other's identities to apply for unemployment insurance benefits, according to court documents. Once the fraudulent applications were approved, banks issued debit cards containing the funds intended for the fall identities, at which point Mirumyan used the debit cards to withdraw cash, officials said.

"When confronted with the COVID pandemic that has claimed the lives of almost 7 million persons worldwide to date, [Mirumyan] instead saw an opportunity to bilk taxpayers out of the emergency funds their government generously made available to ameliorate job losses," according to a sentencing memorandum filed in this case. "Such criminal opportunism during a global health and economic emergency is egregious."

Judge Anderson described the 31-year-old’s offense as "galling" and "callous," noting that the defendant took advantage of benefits meant to help the unemployed even while he had the talent and opportunities to earn money legitimately.

"[It] appears that [Mirumyan] made a decision to pursue riches through fraud rather than to participate in the legitimate economy," prosecutors wrote in the sentencing memo. "Worse, his choice paid off, at least until his stash of $400,000 in cash was accidentally discovered at U.S. Private Vaults based on an unrelated investigation of that business. [Mirumyan] was able to support himself and his family, purchasing a million-dollar home with a swimming pool with his criminal income."