Pair Arrested In Nordstrom Returns Scam
- Glendale police arrested Arpineh Sarkisian, 40, and Argin Gharapetian, 32, after a yearslong alleged Nordstrom return-fraud scheme surfaced at the Glendale store. - Detectives say the pair made 224-plus designer purchases since 2019, then returned counterfeit versions; confirmed losses topped $30,000, with exposure above $300,000. - The case shows how generous return systems can be turned into organized retail fraud — and why one suspicious return mattered.
Retail return fraud is the kind of crime that sounds small until you see the math. One fake return looks like a store problem. A yearslong pattern tied to luxury goods turns into a six-figure hit. That is what Glendale police say happened at Nordstrom, where two local residents were arrested after investigators traced an alleged counterfeit-return scheme back to 2019. (glendaleca.gov) ### Who got arrested? Police identified the suspects as Arpineh Sarkisian, 40, and Argin Gharapetian, 32, both from Glendale. They were arrested after detectives served a search warrant at their residence on April 22, 2026, and later announced the case on April 30. (glendaleca.gov) ### What are police saying they did? The basic al(glendaleca.gov)tic designer merchandise online from Nordstrom, kept the real items, and then returned counterfeit versions to get refunds. Police say those returns happened both in store and through Nordstrom’s distribution center, which matters because it suggests the scheme was not just one cashier getting fooled at one counter. (glendaleca.gov) ### How big was the alleged scheme? Detectives say they found more than 224 high-end purchases tied to the suspects dating back to 2019. The merchandise included designer clothing, handbags, shoes, and cosmetics. Police highlighted examples like YSL handbags priced at $2,950 and $3,150, plus Gucci shoes valued at $1,190. (glendaleca.gov)ing. Glendale police said confirmed losses during this investigation were more than $30,000, while the estimated potential loss to Nordstrom exceeded $300,000. In plain English, the smaller number is what investigators say they could directly verify in the case file right now. The bigger number is the retailer’s estimate of(glendaleca.gov)ed amount upward to about $50,000, but the city’s own release uses “more than $30,000” and “over $300,000” as the key figures. (glendaleca.gov) ### How did the case start? Turns out it started with one suspicious return. A Nordstrom employee at the Glendale store flagged an item in February 2026 that appeared to be counterfeit. On March 10, a member of Nordstrom’s investigation team contacted Glendale police, and detectives began pulling the thread. That thread led them back several years. (glendaleca.gov)icers searched the residence, they say they found large quantities of designer clothes, shoes, purses, and cosmetics, along with counterfeit items, tags, packaging materials, and other suspected stolen property. That matters because a return scam like this only works if the fake item is convincing enough to pass quickly through a busy returns system. (nbclosangeles.com) ### Why does this matter beyond one Nordstrom? Because this is basically the weak spot in modern retail. Stores want returns to feel easy, especially for online orders. But the easier and faster the process gets, the more room there is for counterfeit swapping, serial returns, and resale schemes. One fake handbag is annoying. Hundreds of transactions spread across years start to look like organized retail fraud. (glendaleca.gov) ### What happens next? The immediate story is the arrests and the felony case. The broader story is that a single suspicious return triggered a deeper investigation and exposed an alleged system, not a one-off trick. That is the real takeaway here — fraud like this often hides inside normal store behavior until someone notices one detail that does not fit. (glendaleca.gov)
