A 46-year-old Glendale man pleaded guilty Friday, Sept. 11 to federal charges stemming from a conspiracy to steal about 30 U.S. Postal Service vehicles and mail belonging to more than 200 victims.
Vegen Hartoonian pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit theft of government property and aggravated identity theft, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He has been in federal custody since October 2025.
According to his plea agreement, Hartoonian and his co-conspirators followed postal vehicles from September 2023 to November 2024, waiting for mail carriers to get out to make deliveries.
Hartoonian and his co-conspirators then stole the postal vehicles, drove them to other locations and took the mail inside, prosecutors said.
In all, Hartoonian and his co-conspirators stole about 30 postal vehicles, each valued at $11,651, along with mail belonging to about 230 victims, according to prosecutors. They also illegally possessed 100 credit and debit cards belonging to other people.
The thefts occurred in Glendale, Culver City and Commerce, as well as the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Eagle Rock, Hollywood, Mount Washington, Silver Lake and West Adams.
Prosecutors said the conspirators used rented vehicles including a Dodge Caravan, BMW and GMC SUVs and a Mitsubishi Outlander to follow postal vehicles.
U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder scheduled sentencing for Dec. 7.
Hartoonian faces a statutory maximum sentence of seven years in federal prison.
Three co-defendants — Jose Arviso, 50, of San Bernardino; Sanjay Varma, 44, of Pasadena; and Juan Nuñez, 25, of Highland Park — have pleaded guilty to federal charges and remain in custody, prosecutors said.
A fifth defendant, Mark Anthony Quitugua, 43, of Lincoln Heights, has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go to trial in January 2027. He is free on $10,000 bond.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.