Canyon Country Couple Arrested In Crime Tourism Bust

Posted by: Jade Aubuchon in Court, Santa Clarita Latest News August 28, 2024 - 2:38 pm 0 10,050 Views

Residents in Sand Canyon were surprised by law enforcement activity early Wednesday morning as a Canyon Country couple was arrested for their part in a multi-million dollar crime tourism ring.

Wednesday morning, law enforcement arrested six defendants charged in a 46-count indictment, alleging that a Santa Clarita Valley man facilitated a crime tourism group of South Americans and other individuals who engaged in burglaries, thefts, and other crimes throughout the United States, then laundered millions of dollars in illicit proceeds, according to the Department of Justice.

The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, charges seven defendants, including two Santa Clarita residents, with multiple felony offenses, including wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and structuring transactions to avoid federal financial reporting requirements.

“Today, we dismantled a non-traditional facilitator of organized crime, and now we have a blueprint for future investigations,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “We hope these arrests will discourage future businesses from conducting similar operations, thus reducing the number of thefts and burglaries in our communities.”

Crime tourism theft groups are comprised of individuals often originating from outside the United States, including South America and elsewhere, who engage in burglaries, thefts, and other crimes throughout the U.S.

As part of the modus operandi of crime tourism theft groups, individuals would enter the United States and engage in theft crime sprees. The fruits of the thefts were often shared with facilitators and co-conspirators who assisted the crime tourists in committing their crimes, as well as others inside and outside the United States.

“Crime tourism is a major problem impacting not just Southern California, but our entire nation,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “These defendants facilitated and directed crime tourists who committed hundreds of robberies across the country – in essence, they acted as quarterbacks for a team of thieves. We will continue to work with our local partners to hold accountable those who would come to our country and take advantage of our liberties to steal from the American people.”

Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 57, a.k.a. “Parcero,” of Canyon Country (specifically Sand Canyon) and his live-in girlfriend, Ana Maria Arriagada, 41, a.k.a. “Parcera,” controlled and operated defendant Driver Power Rentals (DPR), a Van Nuys-based car rental or dealership business.

The moniker “Parcero” and “Parcera” are Colombian slang terms for a “good friend.”

Arriagada, formerly a resident of Newhall, was DPR’s registered owner.

The federal indictment lists four others who allegedly collaborated with the couple:

Miguel Angel Barajas, 57, of Northridge
John Carlo Thola, 33, of Canoga Park
Patricia Enderton, who also uses the name “Patty”
Federico Jorge Triebel IV

From at least January 2018 to July 2024, Thola-Duran directed associates, often members of crime tourism theft groups traveling from South America, to travel to various parts of the United States to commit thefts, including shoplifting goods from stores, burglarizing residences and commercial businesses, and stealing victims’ credit cards and debit cards.

Thola-Duran, Arriagada, and DPR provided DPR vehicles for the thief co-conspirators to drive throughout the United States to commit thefts and burglaries and – to make the car rentals appear legitimate and maintain anonymity – require their co-conspirators to provide false identification when renting a vehicle for DPR’s records.

Thola-Duran and Arriagada directed the thief co-conspirators who stole credit or debit cards to immediately go to stores such as Target, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others to max out the stolen cards by purchasing electronics, gift cards, designer purses and other high-end luxury goods before the stolen cards could be frozen or cancelled.

Then, Thola-Duran arranged for the thieves to deliver stolen or fraudulently obtained goods to associates at DPR or to mail them to other co-conspirators, including defendant Barajas and other conspirators at a FedEx store in Sherman Oaks.

At Thola-Duran’s direction, defendants Barajas, John Carlo Thola, and others picked up the parcels and then delivered them to Thola-Duran and other conspirators.

Thola-Duran then acted as a “fence” to buy the goods – at a fraction of their retail value – and pay the thieves a percentage of the items’ value. He then sold the stolen goods to other buyers for approximately $5.5 million over the course of the conspiracy, including approximately $5.1 million sent to various bank accounts controlled by the co-conspirators.

“Since 2019, we have arrested over 130 suspects responsible for perpetrating these crimes, with the vast majority using cars supplied by Driver Power Rentals,” said Ventura County Sheriff James Fryhoff. “Our efforts aren’t stopping there. We formally partnered with the FBI, creating the Ventura County Major Theft Task Force. This task force has been instrumental in pursuing federal charges against Thola-Duran and other members of his criminal organization.”

The defendants allegedly used their ill-gotten gains to purchase and maintain assets, including 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 further alleges that from May 2020 to June 2021, Thola-Duran, Arriagada, and others conspired to obtain $274,998 in COVID-19 business relief loans fraudulently.

“Driver Power Rentals provided cars that were allegedly used to take high-end merchandise and jewelry from Ventura County homeowners,” said Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko. “Taking down a key operator who fueled crime tourism is essential to neighborhood safety, and I am grateful to U.S. Attorney Estrada and his team for aggressively prosecuting this network.”

If convicted, the defendants would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud- and money laundering-related count, up to 10 years in federal prison for each structuring count, and up to five years in federal prison for the conspiracy to transport stolen property interstate count.

“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,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “Crime doesn’t pay in Orange County and individuals who engage in crime tourism are on notice that my office will work with our local and federal partners to continue demanding accountability and bringing those who victimize our community to justice.”

The FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office are investigating this matter. The United States Postal Inspection Service, the Meriwether County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office and the Scottsdale (Arizona) Police Department provided assistance.

“This investigation required years of hard work and dedication on behalf of the Los Angeles Police Department and our partners,” said LAPD Chief Dominic Choi. “I’m pleased that our collective efforts have resulted in the apprehension of these career criminals who have made it their business to victimize our residents and facilitate the movement of foreign criminals. I’m convinced that having them off the streets makes our communities safer.”

Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Chou and Lindsay M. Bailey of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Assistant United States Attorney Ryan J. Waters of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case.