Extinguishing an arson fraud

After Soviet Armenia booted career criminal Gagik Levonian out of the country, he took his small fortune and settled in the U.S. When he needed some ready cash to give to an Armenian anti-Turkish political party, he decided to blow up his house and claim the insurance money. A savvy investigative team gathered the evidence that eventually foiled his fraud.

Gagik Levonian, a career criminal in then-Soviet Armenia, was offered the choice of prison or emigration to the U.S. He came to the States as a “refugee” with 300 carats of diamonds, many antique icons, jewelry, Caucasian and Persian rugs and a large bank account in the Cayman Islands. He used what he brought with him to open a wholesale jewelry store and purchased three gas stations.

His obligations to the Soviet Union died with its demise. He became a U.S. citizen, purchased a 4,000-square-foot house in the hills over Los Angeles and became an officer of the Los Angeles Armenian Businessman’s Association.