Jury convicts Fishers man on 10 counts of fraud

A Fishers man has been convicted of 10 counts of wire fraud—in schemes that included stealing $400,000 from an Indianapolis church—after a three-day federal jury trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

Hrond Arman Gasparian, 67, was involved in two separate but related schemes, according to prosecutors.

Gasparian defrauded the Bells Chapel Church in Indianapolis of $400,000 by telling them he was a broker for a “humanitarian fund” that could issue them a $3 million grant to be used to rebuild their church after it was destroyed by a fire.

Gasparian took a $365,000 payment as a refundable “commitment fee,” and a $35,000 fee to broker the deal, but never delivered the grant or a refund, officials said. He instead spent the money.

In the second scheme, Gasparian defrauded two Indianapolis businessmen who were seeking to secure financing for a construction project. He took $200,000 in earnest money and a $25,000 brokering fee from the men, but never produced a loan, officials said.

According to federal prosecutors, Gasparian’s sentence could include up to 20 years in federal prison with fines of up to $250,000 for each of the 10 counts of his conviction. He might also be sentenced to serve multiple years of supervised release. 

A sentencing date will likely come in the next three months.