Crime & Safety
Update: Palm Desert Fraud Suspect Targeted 6-8 Chase Bank Customers, Prosecutor Alleges
Vahe Ruben Yerkanyan is accused of placing a skimming device at a La Quinta bank, and trying to use stolen information at a Palm Desert branch.
The following article was reported by City News Service:
Criminal charges were filed Friday against a 29-year-old Sun Valley man who allegedly used an electronic skimmer to steal account information from Chase bank customers at a La Quinta branch, and then use it at a Palm Desert branch.
Vahe Ruben Yerkanyan was charged with 16 felony counts, including burglary, forging an access card, using personal information to obtain credit and grand theft of an access card.
He appeared in court in Indio, but his arraignment was postponed until Tuesday so his attorney could be present. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Ronald L. Johnson increased Yerkanyan's bail from $5,000 to $500,000.
Yerkanyan was arrested Tuesday at the Chase branch at 74-930 Country Club Drive in Palm Desert, where he allegedly was trying to use the stolen information to get cash.
Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Steve DaSilva said that on Sunday, a man went into a vestibule at the Chase branch at 78-805 Highway 111 in La Quinta on three occasions, installing and removing a skimming device.
On Tuesday, a security guard at the Palm Desert bank alerted law enforcement that someone was trying to use stolen account information there, he said.
Deputy District Attorney John Rodnick said at Friday's hearing that there are at least seven to eight alleged victims in the case. He said there is an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold on Yerkanyan, who is an Armenian citizen.
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