Real estate broker, 3 others accused in fraudulent sale of $1.5 million home in Burbank

A real estate broker and two others were arrested on Wednesday, Feb. 11 and charged with wire fraud in relation to the fraudulent sale of a $1.5 million home in Burbank, federal prosecutors announced.

Among the arrestees are real estate broker and escrow business operator Glenis Cardona, 63, of Highland; 50-year-old Van Nuys resident Ivan Reyes; and 46-year-old Arshak “John” Akopyan of Northridge.

Law enforcement officials are still looking for defendant Basil Tikriti, 54, of Marina del Rey.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said in a news release that in late 2023 and January 2024, the defendants allegedly carried out a fraudulent sale of a $1.5 million Burbank home, and completed the transaction by using the stolen identities of the victim homeowner and a purported buyer. They collected about $975,000 in loan proceeds through the scheme, prosecutors said.

Cardona allegedly used her company Golden Escrow, which has offices in Downey and Sherman Oaks, to acquire an evaluation report to determine whether the Burbank property had any debt attached to it,

The defendants  allegedly prepared fraudulent documents, including false identity cards, a purchase agreement, a grant deed, a deed of trust, and loan applications,  prosecutors said. Deeds were also allegedly falsely notarized. The fraudulent documents were turned into a lender, which granted the loan of almost $1 million.

Cardona allegedly claimed to represent the victim seller and victim buyer, through neither authorized the transaction, and controlled the escrow, the news release said.

Tikriti allegedly used the victims’ stolen identities to impersonate them both. Reyes and Akopyan allegedly pretended to be mortgage brokers and turned in fake loan applications to try to solicit lenders to finance the fraudulent transaction.

Cardona allegedly sent the loan money to various third-party entities so the defendants could collect the fraudulently collected money, the news release said.

The victims include the Burbank homeowner, who lost ownership of their home; the victim buyer, who was obligated to pay back the $975,000 mortgage; the mortgage lending business that unknowingly approved and funded the loan; and the title company that unwittingly insured the transactions.

Arraignments are set for March 19 for the three defendants in custody.

If convicted, each defendant would face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.