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June 1, 2007

3rd man pleads guilty to pin-pad fraud at Stop & Shop

PROVIDENCE --A third defendant in the Stop & Shop fraud case pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to federal charges of helping to divert some $132,000 from customers at two of the chain's Rhode Island stores.

Arutyun Shatarevyan, 20, of Los Angeles, Calif., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and aggravated identity theft in an agreement signed with federal prosecutors.

The defendants took the account numbers from customers who used pin pads at four Rhode Island stores, but there were 232 customer accounts from which money was actually taken: at the Stop & Shops on Tiogue Avenue in Coventry and on Atwood Avenue in Cranston, according to prosecutors.

Shatarevyan's plea follows the same pleas this month by Arman Ter-Esayan and Gevork Baltadjian, both of California.

The three are subject to up to five years' imprisonment on the first charge and at least two more years in prison on the second charge, plus fines of up to $250,000 on each charge, according to federal court documents.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 2:00 PM | Permalink

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