Federal officials announced a Canyon Country man was central to a 46-count grand jury indictment unsealed Wednesday, alleging he facilitated a “crime tourism theft group” that came from South America, stole throughout the country and then laundered millions in illicit proceeds. He and his significant other are also accused of conspiring with others in order to obtain more than a quarter-million dollars through fraudulent COVID-19-related business-relief loans. According to the indictment, Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 57, aka “Parcero,” of Canyon Country, and his live-in girlfriend, Ana Maria Arriagada, 41, aka “Parcera,” controlled and operated defendant Driver Power Rentals, or DPR, a Van Nuys-based car rental or dealership business.
Arriagada was DPR’s registered owner. Federal agents with FBI and Homeland Security Investigations could be seen Wednesday morning going in and out of a home in the 27300 block of Sand Canyon Road listed on the federal complaint shared by Department of Justice officials. From at least January 2018 to July 2024, Thola-Duran 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, according to the DOJ release.
Federal officials declined to comment regarding their presence on the rural propert.