Home Equity Fraudster Nabbed Overseas After 10 Years On The Run

DENVER, CO – Secret Service agents arrested a fugitive who spent 10 years on the run after pleading guilty to bank fraud in Colorado, the Department of Homeland Security's Denver office announced Tuesday.

With the help of U.S. federal law enforcement, local police in the Republic of Georgia arrested Karen Nikolyan at the Tbilisi Airport in Georgia after he had travelled from Istanbul, Turkey over the weekend.

Nikolyan fled Colorado in 2008 after pleading guilty federal court to bank fraud charges in the District of Colorado.

A federal grand jury indicted Nikolyan in June, 2007 for allegedly making multiple home equity loan applications on a condo he owned in Aurora and collecting a total of more than $600,000 from seven banks.

On Mar. 19, 2008, Nikolyan pleaded guilty and was free on bond awaiting sentencing, a press release from the Secret Service said. He was scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16, 2008, but never showed up in court. Instead he fled the country.

Investigators from the U.S. Secret Service, FBI and other agencies caught Nikolyan as he made reservations to fly from Turkey to the Republic of Georgia.

“Today’s arrest is due to the tireless work of our law enforcement partners at the Secret Service and the FBI, as well as our prosecutors and those at main justice,” said United States Attorney Jason Dunn. “We commend their hard work and long memory, ensuring that justice will be served after 11 years.”

The Republic of Georgia will coordinate with the U.S. to extradite Nikolyan to face sentencing on the bank fraud charges he pleaded guilty to more than 10 years ago, the USAO's office said.

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