Fourth person charged with smuggling Armenians into U.S. via Mexico
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Reporting from San Diego — A fourth person has been charged with being part of what federal prosecutors in San Diego say was an international ring devoted to smuggling Armenian nationals into the United States without proper documents.
Maria Yanakopulus, 57, of Glendale, was charged Monday with attempting to bring three Armenians across the San Ysidro border with phony green cards.
Two other Glendale residents -- Varduhi Avagyan, 42, and Meri Avetisyan, 40 -- were arrested in November. Grigor Chatalyan, 44, of North Hollywood, was arrested in June and charged with being the ringleader.
Prosecutors accuse the group of charging Armenian nationals as much as $18,000 each to be flown to Moscow and then to Cancun, Mexico.
Once in Cancun, they were brought to Tijuana where they received immigration documents that had been issued to other people, prosecutors said.
Yanakopulus is charged with conspiracy and three counts of bringing illegal aliens into the U.S. for financial gain. If convicted on all counts, she faces between five and 15 years in prison.
Twitter: @LATsandiego
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