Warning! Beware eBay scammer Aram Shirinyan / Bijoubaby05

Aram Shirinyan

The following information is culled from messages found on the CGC message forums in June of 2012 -- with numerous edits and additions. Thank you to those who posted facts about this matter. I have been following the scammer Aram Shirinyan's deceptions for years and consider this essential info for any comics collector who wishes to avoid being ripped off. The practices of Aram Shirinyan make a telling case study in the ways a niche market can be exploited by those lacking a conscience. It is also a sadly common story of greed, and of disdain for other people.

UPDATE: Due to the notoreity of scams perpetrated under his bijoubaby05 account, Aram Shirinyan is now using all_things_comics and comix_code as his primary eBay accounts! Aram created "comix_code" in September 2011, probably for shilling purposes, but now he is using it to sell. It is based out of Montrose, California, just like his other accounts, and the photos and deceptive methods are identical.

ABOUT SCAMMER BIJOUBABY05 / ARAM SHIRINYAN:

Bijoubaby05 is the eBay account name used by Aram Shirinyan, or Aram R. Shirinyan. Using this name (or variants like Bijoubaby and Bijou Baby), Aram Shirinyan has been caught red-handed perpetrating many fraudulent activities via eBay over a period of at least six years, going back to 2006 or further. Aram Shirinyan's ongoing activities could be classified as both fraud and theft. Given the significant amounts of money Aram Shirinyan has pilfered from others over the years, his crimes qualify as Grand Theft according to California statute. The types of theft/fraud conducted by Aram Shirinyan possibly fall in the range between Class F and Class I felonies. Since Aram Shirinyan's frauds are perpetrated online, they also qualify as wire fraud or computer crime, and therefore meet the definition of Federal Crimes within the greater United States.

Aram Shirinyan and his accomplices appear to have sold hundreds of thousands of dollars -- again, that's hundreds of thousands of dollars -- worth of items that have been false-advertised and price-manipulated. It is not a stretch to describe this enterprise using the word "criminal."

Aram Shirinyan's usual modus operandi is to buy high-value collectibles (comic books) that have been restored and graded by a respected third-party grading company (CGC Comics). Aram Shirinyan removes the collectibles from their certification holders and then re-sells them to unsuspecting collectors without disclosing the extensive restoration. Aram Shirinyan also grossly inflates the grade of the item, in spite of knowing the designation provided by the grading company. Aram Shirinyan's method involves an ongoing practice of intentionally making false material statements for the sole purpose of defrauding consumers. This is the definition of fraud according to both state and federal law. Aram Shirinyan also appears to manipulate his online auctions using shills and other illegal or unethical methods.

Numerous examples of Aram Shirinyan's fraudulent activities have been detailed on the message boards established by the CGC grading company, as well as on other collectors forums. Aram Shirinyan's level of fraud often involves items with values in the thousands of dollars, sometimes even the tens of thousands. Members of the CGC message forums have documented Aram Shirinyan's deceptive and fraudulent practices for several years. (To see more, go to the forums and do a search on "bijoubaby" or "shirinyan," for example.)

Some background biographical information: Aram Shirinyan lives or at one time lived in La Crescenta, California (zip code 91214 or 91224), with possible previous addresses in San Diego and/or San Francisco, Calif. Aram Shirinyan's apparent neighborhood is located just north of the 210 freeway near Glendale, Burbank and Pasadena in Los Angeles County. Aram Shirinyan may have attended the University of California in Los Angeles, perhaps studying civil engineering. It is possible Aram Shirinyan is a structural design engineer, though online searches also suggest he could be a claims adjuster at Farmers Insurance. The name Aram Shirinyan is also associated with Crescenta Valley High School and Glendale Community College. Aram Shirinyan seems to be in his late 20s. Online searches for Aram Shirinyan's name suggest he is related to Raffi Shirinyan, Betty Shirinyan / Bella Shirinyan, Bell Yeganyan, Berjouhi Shirinyan, and Armen Shirinyan.

Aram Shirinyan has been observed working with accomplices who aid him in perpetrating fraud. Their names include Narbeh Harutunian, Alex Nisthal (or Alexander Nisthal), and Christopher Paoli (aka Christopher Daniel Paoli or Chris Paoli). Another name associated with Aram Shirinyan is Armen Yousefian or Armen A. Yousefian. Online searches suggest all but Aram Shirinyan were college friends at Cal Poly State University in Pomona, Calif. (aka Cal Poly Pomona). Many of them were born in 1984. Some of them are located in Glendale, California, but also have accounts listing them as being in Crescenta, CA; Corona, CA; Murietta, CA; and Covina, CA. Alex Nisthal may study at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Additional accomplices in fraud may include Narine Minasyan and David Hakopian.

It has been alleged that Narbeh Harutunian, Alex Nisthal, or Chris Paoli have been involved in purchases of high-value comics in a CGC "restored" holder, which are then cracked out and transfered to Aram Shirinyan, who sells them as a "raw" comics at an inflated grade, and without disclosing the restoration. It also appears that Narbeh Harutunian, Alex Nisthal, and Chris Paoli have acted as shills in Aram's auctions, using multiple eBay accounts to bid on Aram Shirinyan's items and inflate the value. This creates the illusion of a successful and thriving auction, as well as a desirable sale item, which encourages outsiders to participate and buy at a grossly manipulated price.

The apparent rationalization used is that the bidder should not bid more than he is willing to pay, and that all ethical concerns are covered by "caveat emptor" or "buyer beware." Such a rationalization is ignorant of case law and the concept of illegal collusion. Since Aram Shirinyan has become aware that the comics collecting community has caught on to his scams, he has made it his practice to set all his eBay auctions as "private," which means nobody can track the bidders to determine whether they appear to be shills based on bidding history, feedback score, and so on.

Also due to the comic-community's scrutiny, recently Aram Shirinyan has begun using carefully parsed wording to absolve himself of the responsibility for being honest. For example, if he conclusively knows that a comic was trimmed (because the CGC slab explicitly stated so), he will instead write "The comic appears to be very slightly trimmed," as if his statement is based solely on his own observation, which might even be incorrect. Though this is a subtle form of lie, it is nonetheless a lie -- and highly misleading to bidders. Aram's motivation is to skirt the truth as much as possible while allowing himself an out via "plausible deniability." This is not what an honest person would do; quite the opposite.

Narbeh Harutunian, Alex Nisthal, and Chris Paoli share in Aram Shirinyan's shame for the above activities. One shudders to imagine any of them hired to perform in positions of civic responsibility or involving the handling of finances.

Aram Shirinyan currently uses the eBay account name "bijoubaby05." Other accounts he has been associated with include: lexerific, cdpaoli, all_things_comics, makemeanofferandwin (previously narbeh12), and aram321 or arams321. (Update: all but "bijoubaby05" and "all_things_comics" have been "NARU'ed" -- "no longer a registered user" -- which means eBay suspended them for serious violations of eBay's Rules & Policies) A frequent practice among these scammers is to use multiple accounts, and to quietly change names when a person's account has been caught engaging in fraud. Chances are they all have other names now. Apparently "makemeanofferandwin" is/was Narbeh Harutunian; "cdpaoli" is/was Christopher Paoli, and "lexerific" is/was Alex Nisthal. "all_things_comics" may be one of Aram Shirinyan's accounts, and its associated address (for "All Comics") is a PO Box at a UPS Store located within a strip mall in Montrose, CA. It has been observed that "all_things_comics" is the account most often used to buy restored comics, which are then de-slabbed, sometimes restored (in a destructive, amateurish way, such as sloppy use of color touch) and then sold via Aram Shirinyan's "bijoubaby05" account. Aram Shirinyan also appears to have procured restored comics via auctioneers/sellers ComicLink and Heritage Auctions.

UPDATE TO THE ABOVE: Due to the notoreity of scams perpetrated under his bijoubaby05 account, Aram Shirinyan is now using all_things_comics and comix_code as his primary eBay accounts.

Aram Shirinyan has a wife who possibly aids him in perpetrating fraud. Aram Shirinyan's wife is named Bell Shirinyan, Bella Shirinyan, or Isabella Shirinyan. Her maiden name is possibly Bell Yeganyan, Bella Yeganyan, or Isabella Yeganyan. The name Chris Shirinyan or Christina Shirinyan also may have some association with Aram Shirinyan's fraudulent activities. Aram Shirinyan may be using Bella Shirinyan and Christina Shirinyan's accounts as shills so he can boost the auction prices of the items he sells fraudulently on eBay.

CONCLUSION: Aram Shirinyan's activities show an ongoing pattern of deception, fraud and theft going back several years. Aram Shirinyan's behavior is criminal in nature and violates various California state laws as well as United States federal laws including laws against wire fraud and computer crime. Aram Shirinyan's actions suggest a lack of concern for ethics and a sense of pride in his ability to fool and scam people while manipulating the system for the sole pursuit of his own material gain. Aram Shirinyan preys on the trust and goodwill of others while showing utter contempt for the joy they attain via the honest pursuit of a collectibles hobby.

The above was compiled from data observed or researched online by numerous members of the CGC message forums. There is no intent to falsely libel Aram Shirinyan or his accomplices Narbeh Harutunian, Alex Nisthal, and Chris Paoli. Statements that Aram Shirinyan willfully engages in ongoing fraud are based in detailed, well-documented and repeatedly corroborated observation. AGAIN: ALL STATEMENTS IN THIS EDITORIAL ARE BASED ON REPEATEDLY OBSERVED FACTUAL INFORMATION. IF ANY OF THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS DETERMINED TO BE FALSE, IT WILL BE REMOVED.