LOS ANGELES — Six people have been arrested in connection with a gang of criminals who operated a Los Angeles-based car rental business that lured thieves who then targeted businesses and individuals in Southern California and elsewhere, authorities said Wednesday.

The individuals face multiple charges in federal court, including wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and arranging transactions to evade financial reporting requirements. The indictment also alleges that a Santa Clarita Valley man helped the “South American Crime Tourism Group” commit burglaries, thefts and other crimes.

At a morning press conference at the Federal Building in Westwood, authorities said they had executed 11 search warrants – most of them in the San Fernando Valley, but also further north in Santa Barbara, Santa Clarita and Palmdale. 25 vehicles, several properties and some horses were seized.

“This is not a local problem. The crimes affect not just one city, one county, one region, one state, but the entire country,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “But the effects of crime tourism are particularly felt here in Southern California.”

The indictment alleges that Juan Carlos Thola-Duran, 57, of Canyon Country, and his partner, Ana Maria Arriagada, 41, controlled and operated Driver Power Rentals, the seventh defendant in the indictment. Arriagada was the registered owner of the Van Nuys-based car rental company.

DPR took care of the crime tourists and sent them out to commit the crimes, authorities said. They are accused of offering luxury cars to blend in with the communities they burglarized. Authorities say the defendants insisted on being shown fake IDs and turned away anyone who wanted to rent a car with a real ID.

“In this way, the defendants essentially acted as quarterbacks for a huge team of zealous thieves,” Estrada said.

According to Estrada, during the period of their investigation alone, the group was involved in organizing about 120 burglaries and robberies in 80 cities in California and across the United States.

From around January 2018 until last month, Thola-Duran allegedly conducted a criminal tourism operation that involved luring groups from South America to various parts of the United States to commit thefts, including shoplifting, burglaries of homes and businesses, and the theft of victims’ credit and debit cards, according to the 46-count indictment.

Thola-Duran and Arriagada allegedly instructed criminals who had stolen credit cards to immediately go to stores such as Target, Best Buy and Home Depot and maximize the value of the stolen cards by purchasing electronics, gift cards, designer handbags and other high-end luxury items before the stolen cards could be canceled, the indictment states.

Thola-Duran then arranged for the thieves to deliver the stolen goods to DPR employees or to mail the products to other accomplices, including defendant Miguel Angel Barajas, 57, of Northridge, or to conspirators at a FedEx store in Sherman Oaks, prosecutors allege.

At Thola-Duran’s direction, defendants Barajas, John Carlo Thola, 33, of Canoga Park, and others picked up the packages and delivered them to Thola-Duran and other conspirators, with Thola-Duran acting as a fence and purchasing the goods at a fraction of their retail value, the indictment states.

Federal prosecutors allege that the Santa Clarita man sold approximately $5.5 million worth of the stolen goods to other buyers during the conspiracy, including $5.1 million that was transferred to various bank accounts of accomplices.

The defendants are accused of using the proceeds from the thefts to purchase assets such as real estate and horses and structuring cash withdrawals so that banks do not have to report transactions over $10,000 to the U.S. Treasury.

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

If convicted, the defendants face decades in a federal prison.

Criminal Tourism in Southern California

In addition to the arrests announced Wednesday, Estrada cited other examples of how local and federal authorities are cracking down on criminals throughout the Southland.

Another indictment was filed this week against two South American criminals who allegedly committed an armed robbery in Beverly Hills and were later found in possession of a gun that once belonged to Christopher Dorner.

“Our message to crime tourists is: your days are numbered,” Estrada added.

City News Service contributed to this report.