Man arrested in Colorado bank fraud scheme after spending 11 years fleeing police

DENVER — A man who's been on the run for over a decade and who was indicted by a federal jury in Denver was arrested in the Republic of Georgia, according to the Department of Justice.

Karen Nikolyan, 35, was taken into custody over the weekend at the Tbilisi International Airport after flying from Istanbul, Turkey.

Nikolyan had been a fugitive since 2008, when he fled Colorado after he pleaded guilty to bank fraud in federal court.

On June 6, 2007, Nikolyan was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver for the scheme.

In that case, from April 2007 through May 11, 2007, officials said Nikolyan fraudulently filed multiple applications for home equity in a condominium he owned in Aurora.

A total of seven financial institutions were defrauded by over $600,000. On March 19, 2008, he pleaded guilty and was free on bond awaiting sentencing.

He was scheduled to be sentenced on December 16 of the same year.

Nikolyan failed to appear for his sentencing hearing and instead he fled the country. He was found as he made reservations to fly from Turkey to the Republic of Georgia.

“Today’s arrest is due to the tireless work of our law enforcement partners at the Secret Service and the FBI, as well as our prosecutors and those at main justice,” said United States Attorney Jason Dunn.  “We commend their hard work and long memory, ensuring that justice will be served after 11 years.”