A former leader of the Armenian mafia in Los Angeles was sentenced to 40 years in prison Friday for his role in a billion dollar scheme to rip off American taxpayers.
Lev Aslan Dermen, also known as Levon "The Lion" Termendzhyan, was convicted of conspiring with members of a polygamous sect in Utah known as "The Order" in one of the most audacious tax frauds in history.
Dermen was a Bel Air billionaire and gas station tycoon when he joined forces with members of the polygamous Kingston clan., court documents and testimony from Dermen's 2020 trial show that from 2010 to 2018, Dermen conspired with various members of the Kingston family to fraudulently claim more than $1 billion in refundable renewable fuel tax credits.
Prosecutors said Dermen employed a team of corrupt law enforcement officers, including former DHS Agent Felix Cisneros, former Glendale detective John Balian and former FBI Agent Babak Broumand.
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