California lawmakers call for an investigation of how a $17.5-million settlement for Armenian genocide survivors was beset by corruption and fraud.
U.S. Reps. Jackie Speier and Anna Eshoo , the only Armenian Americans in Congress, along with Rep. Adam Schiff and state Sen. Anthony Portantino , chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said they were disgusted by“I am deeply concerned and outraged by the issues raised,” Portantino said in a statement. “The Armenian Genocide was a horrendous historical atrocity and descendants of those murdered should not be victimized or be denied their rightful settlements.
Schiff, who represents Glendale, home to a sizable Armenian community, and is chair of the powerful House Intelligence Committee, said he was concerned by the “ordeal” faced by descendants of the genocide. Among the irregularities was the award of some $575,000 to a Syrian man who had never applied for compensation, and payments totaling $400,000 to an Iraqi man whose existence could not be verified. Some of those funds were converted to cashier’s checks in Southern California. Additionally, at least $750,000 that was supposed to go to religious organizations never arrived, church officials told The Times.
The Times’ investigation relied on newly unsealed records, emails among attorneys and confidential settlement records. Authorities previously took action against three other lawyers in connection with the settlement. A Beverly Hills attorney, Berj Boyajian, pleaded no contest in Superior Court to a felony and a misdemeanor charge in connection with making false claims to the State Bar and ultimately served no jail time. He later resigned his law license.
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