South Los Angeles woman pleads guilty to bank fraud

By City News Service

Schools were closed Monday in the Los Angeles and Glendale unified school districts to commemorate Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day and there will be a rally in Little Armenia to mark the 108th anniversary of the start of the events that are widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.

The LAUSD Board of Education adopted a policy in 2020 to close schools on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. Students and teachers in the Glendale Unified School District have been given the day off on April 24 for Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day since the 2013-14 school year.

A bill establishing Genocide Remembrance Day as a state holiday to be observed on April 24 and permitting public schools and community colleges to close in observance of this holiday was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 29.

"Genocide commemoration is more than a history lesson. It is a powerful tool to engage people across generations in the sanctity of human rights, the enormity of crimes, and how to prevent future atrocities," Newsom wrote in his signing message for AB 1801 by then-Assemblyman

Adrin Nazarian, D-North Hollywood.

The "Armenian Genocide Commemorative Rally for Justice" began at 10 a.m. on Monday at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue. It was organized by Unified Young Armenians, which also organized a rally Sunday outside the Azerbaijan Consulate in Brentwood seeking an immediate end to Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor.

Glendale conducted its 22nd annual Armenian Genocide Commemorative Event as well at the Alex Theatre, with the theme, "The Armenian Experience Through the Lens," celebrating the 100th anniversary of Armenian cinema.

The program began with a tribute to the atrocities in the Nagorno Karabakh region in an attempt to raise awareness of humanitarian crises. It also included a preview of Armenia's submission for the 2024 Oscars best international film category, "Aurora's Sunrise," an animated documentary based on the life of Aurora Mardiganian, an Armenian Genocide survivor who after her escape became an actress in the United States.

The keynote address was delivered by actor Joe Manganiello, who discussed intergenerational trauma, drawing from his familial history and the story of his maternal great-grandmother, Terviz "Rose" Darakijan, who survived the Armenian Genocide, organizers said.

ASouth Los Angeles woman pleaded guilty Monday to her role in a scheme that used the stolen identities of California prison inmates and others to fraudulently obtain at least $993,181 in state unemployment insurance benefits.

Mykara Destiny Robinson, 24, is the 13th and final defendant to plead guilty in the scheme led by a woman serving a life sentence for murder, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Robinson pleaded guilty in Los Angeles federal court to one count of bank fraud.

On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities arrested Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople, leading to an estimated 1.5 million people being killed. Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

"As we join nations around the world in remembering this painful history, we also reflect on the resilience and resolve of the Armenian people," President Joe Biden said in a statement on what the White House billed as Armenian Remembrance Day. "So many of those who survived were forced to begin new lives in new lands -- including the United States.

"Here and around the world, the Armenian people have met the evil of hate with hope. They rebuilt their communities. They nurtured their families and preserved their culture. They strengthened our nation. They also told their stories — and those of their ancestors — to remember and to ensure that genocide like the one that happened 108 years ago is never again repeated."

The lead defendants in the case are Natalie Le Demola, 38, originally of Corona and who currently is serving a life prison sentence after she was convicted in 2005 of firstdegree murder, and Carleisha Plummer, 33, of Los Angeles, a close prison associate of Demola's until her parole in July 2020.

Demola, Plummer and other co-conspirators would acquire the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of people who were not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, including pandemic benefits, because they were employed, retired or incarcerated, according to a 39-count indictment returned in May 2022.

Members of the conspiracy then used the information to make fraudulent online applications for benefits from the California Employment Development Depart- ment. Once the applications were approved, EDD-funded debit cards were issued that allowed the withdrawal of money from ATMs across Southern California.

According to Robinson's plea agreement, the conspiracy began in June 2020. Robinson and her co-defendants assumed the identities of California prison inmates and used EDD debit cards issued in their names to make fraudulent cash withdrawals of benefits from Bank of America ATMs in Los Angeles County.

During the scheme, Robinson and others withdrew at least $993,181 in EDD funds from about 151 fraudulent accounts, according to federal prosecutors

U.S. District Judge John Walter scheduled a July 3 sentencing hearing for Robinson, at which time she will face a potential sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.

Demola pleaded guilty last month in downtown Los Angeles to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, three counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. At her July 10 sentencing hearing, she faces up to 30 years on the conspiracy and bank fraud counts and a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence for the aggravated identity theft count.

Plummer pleaded guilty on April 17 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. She faces up to 32 years in federal prison at her July 14 sentencing hearing.

The other defendants have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, bank fraud, and/or aggravated identity theft based on their respective roles within the scheme. Most defendants will face a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.