Scammers are using identity data to impersonate foreign celebrities, athletes, and academics and apply for credit in the U.S., according to experts.
The fraudsters are “doing it to make millions of dollars, live in nice houses, all at the expense of taxpayers,” Sgt. Frank Diana of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Fraud and Cyber Crimes Bureau told The Los Angeles Times.
“It’s not their money, but they’re living like kings.”
The tactic was uncovered by David Main, a Georgia State University criminology professor and head of fraud insights at SentiLink, a company that stops identity fraud for financial institutions. They were initially examining applications for credit from celebrities, who it was presumed were being impersonated.
During their investigations, they happened upon hundreds of credit applications that could be traced back to a handful of similar California addresses and areas in September.
Maimon told The Times that the scammers were also using the Social Security numbers of foreign scholars, who came to the U.S. for work in roles in academia, such as teaching professors or visiting lecturers.
The scholars were no longer living in the U.S., but their information is still available in various online databases, which have been found and used by hackers. Personal information came from visitors who had arrived as far back as 1977 and left as recently as 2024, Maimon added.
If the academics were to return for work, they would find piles of credit card debt and scores that would make it impossible for them to find work or housing.
Fraudulent applications came from addresses in key areas of Los Angeles: Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Toluca Lake, Glendale and Thai Town. Maimon told The Times that the scammers have chosen places they have access to – to pick up mail, credit cards and other documents.
The addresses also fall in the Burbank and Glendale area, which authorities say is the home of Armenian Power, an organized crime group known for carrying out sophisticated financial crimes.
Maimon noted that about half of the scholars who were defrauded are from Turkey, a historical rival of Armenia.
“They [Armenian Power] have been involved in identity theft and white-collar crime for the last 15 years or so,” Maimon told The Times. “It leads us to believe that these guys are essentially stealing all these identities and using them in order to create all those bank accounts and credit lines.”
Diana said he did not know for certain if Armenian Power was behind the specific fraudulent applications, but said the groups are responsible for a large amount of financial crime in L.A. County.
“We run into a lot of sophisticated Armenian crime groups that are experts on identity theft,” he said. “That’s what they do for a living and [they] make a lot of money.”
The Independent has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department, Burbank Police Department, and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office for further information about the cases and possible investigations.
Maimon told The Times that he has not provided information to the authorities out of fear of potential repercussions from criminal organizations involved, but has contacted the affected financial institutions.
