A Santa Clarita Valley man accused of running a crew of “crime tourism” thieves from South America tied to burglaries and thefts across the country that led to more than $5 million in illicit proceeds was among seven people taken into custody early Wednesday, August 28, to face a 46-count federal indictment, law enforcement leaders announced.
A grand jury indictment that was unsealed alleges that Juan Carlos Thola-Duran and six other co-defendants committed a multitude of federal crimes, including wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and structuring transactions to avoid federal financial reporting requirements.
Crime tourism theft groups, according to law enforcement officials in a statement, are comprised of individuals from outside the country, often from South America, who enter the United States and “engage in burglaries, thefts and other crimes.”
The fruits of the thefts are shared with “facilitators and co-conspirators” that assist them, prosecutors said. Thola-Duran and his co-defendants are accused of having been among such facilitators, with federal prosecutors describing them as acting as “quarterbacks for a team of thieves.”
“This group essentially acted as a linchpin for South American crime tourists who wanted to come to our country and take advantage of our liberties to steal from the American people,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said at a Wednesday morning press conference.
From 2018 to 2024, the group of defendants helped to organize and facilitate about 120 burglaries and thefts around the country in 80 cities, including in Los Angeles and Orange counties, Estrada said.
“The losses to these individuals and businesses are well north of $35 million,” Estrada said.
The indictment alleges that Thola-Duran, a 57-year-old resident of Canyon Country in the Santa Clarita Valley, and his live-in girlfriend, 41-year-old Ana Maria Arriagada, operated Driver Power Rentals, a Van Nuys-based automotive business.
Estrada said Driver Power Rentals “catered only to crooks.” Crime tourists would go to the lot, they’d be provided with a vehicle and would be directed where to go to commit thefts. Thola-Duran and Arriagada required crooks to provide false identification in order to obtain a vehicle.
“If you came to them with a legitimate ID, they would turn you away, and that’s how they tried to keep some sort of distance from the crimes that were occurring,” Estrada said.
From at least January 2018 to July 2024, the indictment alleges, Thola-Duran directed members of crime tourism groups to travel to various parts of the United States to commit thefts. That included, prosecutors say, shoplifting, residential and commercial burglaries and credit-card thefts.
Thola-Duran and Arriagada provided the thieves with vehicles from Driver Power Rentals, prosecutors allege, and arranged for them to deliver stolen goods to associates at the company. Thola-Duran also acted as a fence, prosecutors allege, willing to buy the illicitly obtained goods at a fraction of their retail value.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer at the press conference. (Photo by Nathaniel Percy, SCNG)
Thola-Duran and Arriagada would order those who stole credit cards to max them out by buying gift cards or high-end luxury goods from Target, Best Buy, Home Depot and other stores, officials said.
They would then be directed to bring the illicit goods back the rental car business or direct them to be mailed to others involved, prosecutors said.
Also arrested were Miguel Angel Barajas, 57, of Northridge and John Carlos Thola, 33, of Canoga Park who prosecutors said picked up parcels and delivered them to Thola-Duran.
Thola-Duran then sold the stolen goods to other buyers, prosecutors allege, for approximately $5.5 million over the course of the conspiracy. Thola-Duran and his co-defendants used the money to buy real estate and horses, among other assets, according to the indictment.
“The devastation and the impact this is having on Southern California and this nation is unacceptable and it’s intolerable,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said, adding that the criminals used Driver Power Rentals to obtain cars that would help them blend in to the communities they victimized.
“They have no shame, no empathy, they are here for one reason,” Spitzer said. “To create havoc and devastation.”
Mayor Karen Bass said she had spoken with residents in areas like the San Fernando Valley who have been “terrorized and terrified by what is happening,” and was hoping the announcement of arrests would bring relief to those residents.
She added that the announcement of arrests was “not the end of our work, it is ongoing.”
Akil Davis, FBI assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles Field office, said usually investigations into theft rings target “a spoke in a very very large wheel.
“Where this investigation differs is the Major Thefts Task Force …t argeted the entire wheel,” he said.
Originally Published: August 29, 2024 at 9:55 a.m.
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Publish date : 2024-08-29 06:00:00
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