Glendale lawyer Rudy Dekermenjian, 42, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges related to a scheme in which a bank was defrauded into processing payments for a merchant whose account had been closed by the bank’s risk department. Dekermenjian said at his plea hearing that his employer, a payment processing company, had legally processed payments from the merchant with Fifth Third Bank in 2016. The next year, the bank’s risk department terminated the account. Following the termination, executives at the payment processing company allegedly encouraged the merchant to re-apply for processing using fake information. The merchant allegedly re-applied for processing by using fake websites to pose as an online retailer. Dekermenjian allegedly joined the scheme at this point and earned commission payments of more than $20,000 on the fraudulent processing transactions. Dekermenjian is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and bank fraud and one count of alteration and falsification of records. A sentencing date has not been scheduled. This isn’t the first time Dekermenjian has been charged in relation to financial conspiracy schemes. He was one of eight people – including George Nader, a witness in special council Robert Muller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election – indicted in December for allegedly conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions. Dekermenjian allegedly made campaign donations with money given to him by another defendant as a way to skirt personal contribution limits.
