‘Crime tourists’ allegedly fly from South America to rob US homes, 7 charged

LOS ANGELES – Seven defendants face federal criminal charges in an indictment alleging a Santa Clarita Valley man orchestrated a “crime tourism” group that targeted stores and private homes, then laundered millions of dollars in illicit proceeds, officials announced Wednesday.

The indictment, unsealed in Los Angeles federal court, charges the defendants — six of whom were arrested Wednesday in a series of raids in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties — with multiple felony offenses, including wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and structuring transactions to avoid financial reporting requirements.

“These criminals were running a burglary operation with a sophistication that rivals Amazon and instead of dispatching delivery drivers, they were dispatching trained thieves throughout Southern California to steal from what should be where we are safest — our homes,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.

Crime tourism groups consist of criminals from foreign countries who come to a city and engage in burglaries, shoplifting and other crimes, federal prosecutors said.

At a downtown news conference announcing the indictment and arrests, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she’s been aware of groups of such thieves operating throughout the city.

“Make no mistake, this is not the end of our work, it is ongoing,” she said. “And recently I’ve been meeting with residents from the valley, from Brentwood, Encino, and I just have tell you, that those neighborhoods have been terrified and terrorized by what has been happening. We have increased crime suppression efforts in these areas along with our partners and we will continue this effort because obviously the goal of all of us up here is to make our communities safer.”

According to the indictment, Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 57, of Canyon Country, and his live-in girlfriend, Ana Maria Arriagada, 41, controlled and operated Driver Power Rentals, a Van Nuys-based car rental or dealership business. Arriagada was DPR’s registered owner.

From roughly January 2018 to last month, Thola-Duran allegedly directed crime tourism theft groups from South America to travel to various parts of the United States to commit thefts, including shoplifting and burglarizing homes and businesses, and stealing victims’ credit and debit cards, according to the 46-count indictment.

Thola-Duran and Arriagada allegedly ordered criminals who stole credit cards to immediately go to stores such as Target, Best Buy and Home Depot to max out the stolen cards by purchasing electronics, gift cards, designer purses and other high-end luxury goods before the pilfered cards could be canceled, the indictment says.

Thola-Duran then arranged for the thieves to deliver stolen goods to associates at DPR or to mail the products to other accomplices, including defendant Miguel Angel Barajas, 57, of Northridge, or to conspirators at a FedEx store in Sherman Oaks, prosecutors allege.

At Thola-Duran’s direction, defendants Barajas, John Carlo Thola, 33, of Canoga Park, and others picked up the parcels then delivered them to Thola-Duran and other conspirators, with Thola-Duran acting as a fence to buy the goods at a fraction of their retail value, the indictment contends.

Federal prosecutors allege the Santa Clarita man then sold the stolen goods to other buyers for about $5.5 million over the course of the conspiracy, including $5.1 million sent to various bank accounts controlled by accomplices.

The defendants allegedly used the proceeds of the thefts to purchase assets such as real estate and horses, and structured cash withdrawals to avoid triggering the requirement that banks report transactions exceeding $10,000 to the U.S. Treasury Department.

The indictment alleges that Thola-Duran, Arriagada, and others from May 2020 to June 2021 also conspired to fraudulently obtain $274,998 in COVID-19 business relief loans.

If convicted as charged, the defendants could face decades in federal prison. (CNS)

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