An Orlando International Airport tollbooth operator has been arrested Friday for allegedly stealing money from airport customers who parked at the airport. Susanna Harutyunyan, 43, of Orlando, faces three fraud charges, including swindling people to obtain property, possessing the identification of another person without consent and fraudulent use of a pay card scanning device.
Harutyunyan worked at the airport as an employee of Ampco, a parking-management company as a tollbooth operator. An investigation started when a CitiBank investigator notified Orlando police that he believed there to be 17 separate acts of fraud on customer’s charge cards that all used the Orlando International Airport parking.
According to the investigation, it is alleged that the employee was using a credit-card scanning device to skim money from unsuspecting customers. When police initially spoke to Harutyunyan, she told them her boyfriend, Artavazd Grigoryan, had sent the device to her and told her to use it to charge her cell phone earpiece, according to the arrest affidavit. Ultimately, Harutyunyan admitted that she was swiping the credit cards and writing information about them for her boyfriend, according to the affidavit. She told police that she knew her actions were wrong, but did them for her boyfriend because she was in love.
The CitiBank investigator told deputies that the bank has reimbursed the credit-card holders’ account $2,926.73. The investigator also said he expects to press charges.
Orlando Police departments are warning people to be on the lookout for a scam group that has recently arrived in the city. Law enforcement officials say that gangs are moving into the area and are preying on people using a 3-card Monte game. Among the areas hit by these indivicuals are Daytona during Bike Week and the Daytona 500 along with Orange County tourist areas.
In 3-card Monte, a dealer shows the audience a card, shifts that card with two others and asks someone in the audience to guess which card was shown. One person in the audience is in on the game and works with the dealer to convince others to bet large amounts – and lose them.
The scam group’s members also have been known to rob participants as they play the game. The men, who all are related by blood, marriage or long-term association, often travel in minivans registered from Ohio and Kentucky. One Marion County man already has reportedly already has been robbed of a $2,600 and a valuable ring while playing the game at a gas station, according to the Marion sheriff’s office.
If you have been arrested or charged with a Fraud or Theft in Orlando and are facing criminal prosecution in either Orange County, Seminole County, Florida, contact the attorneys at Tilden Law for an initial and confidential consultation, 407-599-1234.
The former president of the Central Florida Eagle Youth Sports organization was sentenced to 2 ½ years prison for her part in a embezzlement and theft scheme. Marsha Helmadollar allegedly had access and control over the bank account of the youth organization and deposited over $58,000 of the organization’s money into her personal account from January 2006 through August 2007. In addition, Helmadollar is also accused of defrauding The Title Team, a title insurance company where she worked.
If you have been accused of a theft related crime and are seeking legal representation to help guide you through the criminal justice system, contact the criminal defense firm Tilden Law for a free initial case evaluation, 407-599-1234.