LOS ANGELES – A Glendale man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to steal approximately 30 United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier vehicles as well as the mail inside them, including 100 credit and debit cards belonging to other people, some of which he then illegally used.
Vegen Hartoonian, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft of government property and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Hartoonian, the lead defendant in this case, has been in federal custody since October 2025.
According to his plea agreement, from September 2023 to November 2024,
Hartoonian and his co-conspirators followed postal vehicles using rented vehicles such as a Dodge Caravan, BMW and GMC SUVs, and a Mitsubishi Outlander. The car rental used to follow a USPS vehicle during a September 2023 incident was paid for with stolen credit card information.
Once the mail carrier got out of the USPS vehicle to deliver mail, Hartoonian and his co-conspirators stole the postal vehicle, drove it to another location, and then stole the mail inside the vehicle.
In total, Hartoonian and his co-conspirators stole approximately 30 USPS postal vehicles – each vehicle valued at $11,651 – and the mail of approximately 232 victims and illegally possessed 100 credit and debit cards belonging to other people.
Hartoonian further admitted to unlawfully possessing a victim’s credit card number in connection with a scheme to steal USPS vehicles and the mail inside them during a January 2024 incident.
United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder scheduled a December 7 sentencing hearing, at which time Hartoonian will face a statutory maximum sentence of seven years in federal prison.
Three other defendants have already pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges in this case and remain in federal custody:
- Jose Arviso, 50, of San Bernardino;
- Sanjay Varma, 44, of Pasadena; and
- Juan Nuñez, 25, of Highland Park.
One other defendant – Mark Anthony Quitugua, 43, of Lincoln Heights – has pleaded not guilty to federal criminal charges and is scheduled to go to trial in January 2027. He is free on $10,000 bond.
The United States Postal Inspection Service is investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Neil P. Thakor of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting this case.
Contact
Ciaran McEvoy
Public Information Officer
ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov
(213) 894-4465
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