Identity Theft

Five men were charged Friday with multiple counts of identity theft after they allegedly used re-encoded credit cards to buy and resell gas for profit, police said. The men - Norik Tergalstanyan, 45, Arman Karapetyan, 24, Andranik Tashchyan, 57, Allen Babakhanian, 19, and 48-year-old Ruben Petrosyan - were named in the 17-count Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint, which included felony identity theft and grand theft of access card charges for allegedly stealing personal bank account information belonging to 13 victims from Washington state.

Valeant revenues up, losses down Costa Mesa's Valeant Pharmaceuticals International reported second-quarter financial results Thursday. Compared with figures from the second quarter of 2004, Valeant increased revenues and reduced its net loss. For the second quarter of 2005, Valeant reported a $500,000 loss, better than last year's loss of $41.3 million. The firm's revenue for the second quarter improved 20% from $170.4 million to $205 million.

An A1 story on Friday titled “Identity theft tied to florist” failed to give the full name of Glendale Police Det. Ralph Garcia. Also, the name of the online floral processing site should have said Teleflora.

A Los Angeles man and woman have filed a federal lawsuit against the Glendale Police Department, alleging a wrongful search last year during a traffic stop that led to their arrest. David Thompson Boyd, 51, and Patricia Marie Hale, 52, claimed in a U.S. District Court lawsuit filed March 5 that they were stopped on their way to dinner on Aug. 31, 2012 in Glendale for unknown reasons, searched without probable cause, arrested and denied bail. The pair are representing themselves. “It went from simply going to have dinner to all of a sudden being Bonnie and Clyde,” Boyd said, adding that he wants to know why the traffic stop escalated to an arrest.

Dollars to support organic farming Whole Foods Market has its regional 5% day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday at 331 N. Glendale Ave., Glendale. Five percent of the store's net sales will go to the Organic Farming Research Foundation. For more information, call (818) 548-3695. Workshop offers anti-theft advice The Identity Theft workshop meets from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St., Glendale in the Central Library Auditorium.

A 26-year-old former Boy Scout employee pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he allegedly stole $28,820 from the organization's Verdugo Hills Council in Glendale. Donald Thurman, who worked part-time in the council's scout shop, faces five felony counts for identity theft, another five felony counts of forgery and a felony count of grand theft for stealing from the Boy Scouts of America, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint. Rick Williamson, the local chapter's acting scout executive, said the council was “very disappointed” about the alleged theft, especially because of the ethics and values the Boy Scouts embody.

The following were taken from daily booking reports from the Glendale Police Department. AREA 1 100 block of North Adams Street Ruth Jimenez, 39, was arrested Feb. 17 on suspicion of battery, assault with deadly weapon, making criminal threats and battery on a police officer. 200 block of North Glendale Avenue Emmanuel Kabahizi, 37, was arrested Feb. 17 on suspicion of petty theft. 300 block of West Colorado Street Fengyong Cao, 27, was arrested Feb. 18 on suspicion of burglary, grand theft of access cards and identity theft.

Darleene Barrientos This tax season, some residents have discovered unpleasant surprises in their mailboxes: They owe taxes on jobs they never worked. One Glendale woman told police she received a W-2 with her mother's name and Social Security number. A La Crescenta man received a notice from the Internal Revenue Service that he owed more than $3,000 in back taxes for working in Oregon -- even though he did not work there last year. A Glendale woman, who works as a legal analyst, reported that when she applied for maternity leave benefits, she was asked if she ever worked for a Van Nuys agricultural company.

Tim Willert Armenuhi Kartalyan-Oganesian never knew what hit her, but it might as well have been a punch to the stomach. On Tuesday, the 37-year-old Glendale resident tried to make a bank deposit but discovered her ATM card had been canceled over the phone and a duplicate card issued and mailed to an address in Los Angeles. "Whoever did this gave the bank my Social Security number, my mother's maiden name and her date of birth," Kartalyan-Oganesian said.