Los Angeles broker arrested for using stolen identity

LOS ANGELES – A homeowner in Burbank was reportedly swindled out of his $1.5 million dollar house by a group of fraudsters that include a licensed real estate broker and two other defendants. The fraudsters used stolen identities of the seller, and a reputed buyer, to obtain a near $1 million dollar loan.  

The defendants are listed as:

• Glenis Cardona, 63, of Highland, a licensed real estate broker who operates an escrow business;

• Ivan Reyes, 50, of Van Nuys; and

• Arshak Akopyan, 46, a.k.a. “John Akopyan,” of Northridge.

Law enforcement continues to search for defendant Basil Tikriti, 54, of Marina del Rey, who is at large.

The defendants, in late 2023 and early 2024, successfully completed the fraudulent sale of a $1.5 million home in Burbank, through which they secured almost $975,000 in loan proceeds.

To execute this scheme, they used the stolen identities of the homeowner and a reputed buyer. Cardona owned an Escrow company named Golden Escrow which she used to obtain a report detailing if the property was burdened with liens or judgements.

The defendants also utilized false identity cards and documents, a grant deed, purchase agreements, a deed of trust, loan applications, and a falsely notarized deed.  These fraudulent documents and information were submitted to a lender who funded the loan.

Cardona purported to represent the victim seller and the victim buyer – although neither authorized the transaction – and controlled escrow. Tikriti used the victims’ stolen identities to impersonate both the victim seller and the victim buyer. Reyes and Akopyan acted as mortgage brokers and submitted fraudulent loan applications to solicit lenders to fund the illicit transaction.

After funds were deposited in escrow, Cardona directed the funds to various third-party entities to collect the money.

The owner of the house (who lost ownership), the buyer (who was obligated to payback the loan), the lender (who unwittingly approved the loan), and the title company (who unwittingly insured the transaction) were all victims of the scheme.

If found guilty and convicted, each defendant would face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.

Mortgage Fraud. Mortgage Post-Closing Audit. Mortgage Quality Control.