Indictment Charges Santa Clarita Man, 6 Others with Facilitating Crime Tourism Group That Took in More Than $5 Million in Illicit Proceeds

LOS ANGELES - Law enforcement today arrested six defendants that a federal grand jury charged in a 46-count indictment alleging 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.

The indictment, returned on August 1 and unsealed today, charges seven defendants with multiple felony offenses, including wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and structuring transactions to avoid federal financial reporting requirements.

Crime tourism theft groups are comprised of individuals, often originating from outside of the United States, including from 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 the commission of their crimes, as well as others, both 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."

"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."

"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."

According to the indictment, Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 57, a.k.a. "Parcero," of Canyon Country, 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. Arriagada was DPR's registered owner.

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 to the thieves to deliver stolen or fraudulently obtained goods to associates at DPR or to mail them to other co-conspirators, including defendant Miguel Angel Barajas, 57, of Northridge, or to other conspirators at a FedEx store in Sherman Oaks. At Thola-Duran's direction, defendants Barajas, John Carlo Thola, 33, of Canoga Park, and others picked up the parcels 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.

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 Thola-Duran, Arriagada, and others from May 2020 to June 2021 conspired to fraudulently obtain $274,998 in COVID-19 business relief loans.

"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."

"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."

"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."

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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.

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.

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.

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