Canyon Country Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges, Including Facilitating Crime Tourism Group that Burgled Its Way Through U.S.

LOS ANGELES - A Santa Clarita Valley man pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges, including facilitating a crime tourism group of South Americans and other individuals who committed burglaries and other crimes throughout the United States, causing at least $23.9 million in losses.

Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 59, a.k.a. "Parcero," of Canyon Country, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, to receive and transport stolen property interstate, and to commit money laundering, and one count of structuring transactions to avoid federal financial reporting requirements.

Thola-Duran, the lead defendant in this case, has been in federal custody since August 2024.

He has agreed to forfeit to the U.S. government any assets he derived from the scheme, including dozens of cars, jewelry, and luxury items such as designer handbags and clothing.

According to his plea agreement, Thola-Duran and his then-live-in girlfriend, Ana María Arriagada, 43, a.k.a. "Parcera," controlled and operated co-defendant Driver Power Rentals (DPR), a Van Nuys-based car rental or dealership business. Arriagada was DPR's registered owner.

He directed associates, often members of crime tourism theft groups traveling from South America, to travel to various parts of the United States to commit thefts, including shoplifting goods from stores, burglarizing residences and commercial businesses, and stealing victims' credit cards and debit cards.

Thola-Duran, Arriagada, and DPR provided DPR vehicles for the thief co-conspirators to drive throughout the United States to commit thefts and burglaries and - to make the car rentals appear legitimate and maintain anonymity - required their co-conspirators to provide false identification when renting a vehicle for DPR's records.

Thola-Duran and Arriagada directed the thief co-conspirators who stole credit or debit cards to immediately go to stores such as Target, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and others to max out the stolen cards by purchasing electronics, gift cards, designer purses and other high-end luxury goods before the stolen cards could be frozen or cancelled.

Thola-Duran arranged for the thieves to deliver stolen or fraudulently obtained goods to associates at DPR or to mail them to other co-conspirators. At Thola-Duran's direction, co-conspirators picked up the parcels then delivered them to Thola-Duran and others. Thola-Duran then acted as a "fence" to buy the goods - at a fraction of their retail value - and pay the thieves a percentage of the items' value. He then sold the stolen goods to other buyers, receiving at least $5,758,655 from various fences, including approximately $5.2 million from bank accounts of an electronics exporter in Van Nuys during the conspiracy.

The criminal conspiracy to commit wire fraud, to receive and transport stolen property interstate, and to commit money laundering harmed at least 37 victims and resulted in losses of at least $23.9 million.

Furthermore, Thola-Duran, Arriagada, and others from May 2020 to June 2021 conspired to fraudulently obtain $274,998 in COVID-19 business relief loans.

Finally, Thola-Duran and his co-conspirators used their ill-gotten gains to purchase and maintain assets, including real estate and horses, and structured cash withdrawals to avoid triggering the requirement that banks report transactions exceeding $10,000 to the United States Treasury Department.

From March 2022 to October 2022, Thola-Duran repeatedly withdrew money in amounts less than $10,000 from his bank account, totaling approximately $412,292 in withdrawals during that seven-month period. He did so to prevent financial institutions from reporting his withdrawals as required by federal law, and he did so while engaged in his criminal conspiracy.

United States District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald scheduled a November 18 sentencing hearing, at which time Thola-Duran will face a statutory maximum sentence of 55 years in federal prison.

Arriagada pleaded guilty last year to four felonies in connection with this case and is expected to be sentenced in the coming months.

An August 18 trial date is scheduled for defendants Patricia Enderton, 45, of Northridge, and Federico Jorge Triebel IV, 79, of Woodland Hills, who have pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges against them.

Federal prosecutors have secured a total of four guilty pleas so far in this case.

The FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, and the Orange County District Attorney's Office investigated these matters. The United States Postal Inspection Service, the United States Marshals Service, the Meriwether County (Georgia) Sheriff's Office, the Cobb County (Georgia) Police Department, and the Scottsdale (Arizona) Police Department provided assistance.

Assistant United States Attorneys Kellye Ng of the Major Crimes Section and Jonathan S. Galatzan of the Asset Forfeiture and Recovery Section are prosecuting this case.