A couple from California have gone on the run after stealing more than $21 million (£15.6 million) from the US government in Covid relief funds.
The husband and wife duo used fake identities and splashed the stolen cash on luxury villas, jewellery and even a Harley Davidson motorbike.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, Marietta Terabelian, 37, and her husband Richard Ayvazyan, 43, were released with monitoring bracelets, which they cut off shortly before they vanished.
The pair from the neighbourhood of Tarzana in Los Angeles, were found guilty and sentenced on Monday - despite not attending the court hearing.
Ayvazyan was handed a 17-year sentence while Terabelian was given six years, according to local media outlet KTLA. Artur Ayvazyan, Richard's brother, was given a five-year sentence for his role in the scam.
The couple has been on the run since September, when they cut off their monitoring bracelets and vanished, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement.
The couple used fake and stolen identities to get their hands on the funds that the government handed out under the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans scheme, according to KTLA.
The scam saw the suspects steal dozens of identities and produce fake ones, which they used to submit claims.
They often stole the identities of elderly and dead residents along with those of foreign students who had only spent short periods of time in the US.
The funds were supposed to go towards helping business owners struggling due to the impact of the pandemic, but the suspects spent the money on expensive homes in high-end neighbourhoods in Los Angeles and other locations in California, such as Glendale and Palm Desert.
They also spent the money on luxury items such as jewellery and a Harley Davidson motorbike.
KTLA reports that Kristi K. Johnson, from the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said: "The defendants lived a lavish lifestyle by defrauding the government at the expense of small businesses and American taxpayers already facing financial and pandemic-related hardship."
The FBI has offered $20,000 (£14,900) for any information that leads to them being caught.
Ashwin J. Ram, Ayvazyan's lawyer, told the court on Monday that the couple may have been kidnapped, but the prosecutor claimed that there is no proof to support this theory, reported KTLA.
Terabelian, Richard Ayvazyan and Artur Ayvazyan were found guilty of multiple charges including bank fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
This was the first US trial of a Covid-related fraud case, and four others were convicted along with the Ayvazyan brothers and Terabelian, according to KTLA.
Tracy L. Wilkison, US Attorney Tracy, said: "The defendants used the Covid-19 crisis to steal millions of dollars in much-needed government aid intended for people and businesses suffering from the economic effects of the worst pandemic in a century."
She added that the convictions reflect the government's determination to punish those who defraud the state and the taxpayer.
