A Canyon Country woman is expected to plead guilty Wednesday to her alleged role in a “crime tourism” ring that dispatched thieves from South America to various parts of the United States to shoplift, burglarize homes and businesses, and steal credit cards.
Ana Maria Arriagada, 42, has agreed to enter a plea to federal counts of wire fraud, receipt of stolen property, money laundering, and structuring transactions to avoid financial reporting requirements, her plea agreement states.
According to the 46-count indictment, Arriagada and her boyfriend, Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, lived in Santa Clarita and ran a car rental business called Power Drive Rentals in Van Nuys.
From 2018 to July 2024, Thola-Duran, 58, directed crime groups from South America to travel to various parts of the United States to commit thefts, the indictment filed in Los Angeles federal court contends.
Arriagada and Thola-Duran allegedly ordered associates who stole credit cards to immediately go to stores such as Target, Best Buy and Home Depot to max out the cards by purchasing electronics, gift cards, designer purses and other high-end luxury goods before the pilfered cards could be canceled, the indictment says.
Thola-Duran then arranged for the thieves to deliver stolen goods to associates at DPR or to mail the products to other accomplices or conspirators at a FedEx store in Sherman Oaks, prosecutors allege.
At Thola-Duran’s direction, various co-defendants picked up the parcels then delivered them to Thola-Duran and others, with Thola-Duran acting as a fence to buy the goods at a fraction of their retail value, the indictment alleges.
Federal prosecutors allege the Santa Clarita man then sold the stolen goods to other buyers for about $5.5 million over the course of the conspiracy, including $5.1 million sent to various bank accounts his accomplices controlled.
Arriagada and Thola-Duran allegedly used the proceeds of the thefts to purchase assets such as 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 alleges that Arriagada, Thola-Duran and others also conspired to fraudulently obtain $274,998 in COVID-19 business relief loans.
Thola-Duran is scheduled for trial in August, court papers show.
If convicted as charged, the defendants could face decades in federal prison.