Three women accused of bank and credit-card fraud in a wide-ranging organized crime ring were granted bail this morning by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Watanabe.
Natallia Vishnevskaya, 26, Nadezda Nikitina, 23, and 69-year-old Susan Ghardashyan each face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
Nikitina and Ghardashyan — who appeared sickly in a wheelchair — were both granted release if they each posted $10,000 bail. Vishnevskaya’s bail was set at $50,000.
All three were expected to have a preliminary hearing today, but the government and defense lawyers agreed to move those hearings to Sept. 1 and Sept. 8 because they needed more time to prepare their cases.
Prosecutors say the ring used credit lines to obtain loans and products with no intention of repaying the money or the merchandise. Some of the purchases included luxury vehicles that were bought from an Aurora auto dealership, Maaliki Motors, which was searched by federal agents.
Court documents say Nikitina formed a business, A&N Enterprises, and filed articles of organization with the Colorado secretary of state’s office.
But the Colorado Department of Labor reported that she did not have any employment income at the time she filled out applications for credit on which she said she earned $180,000 a year.
As part of the conditions of their release, the women are not allowed to open or apply for any new lines of credit.
Court documents allege Ghardashyan spent $20,300 at Maaliki Motors from February to April using a Target National Bank Card and another $10,000 on a Nordstrom card at the dealership. In late February, two attempts were made at charging another $21,000 to the Nordstrom card at Maaliki Motors, but the charges were declined, the records show.
Investigators say 700 people were involved in a Denver-based scheme run by Russian immigrants, with losses topping $80 million.
Last week, authorities raided 15 locations and arrested five people. Another 11 people are named in an indictment as co-defendants.
As part of the investigation, federal agents searched CannaMed, a medical-marijuana dispensary on Leetsdale Drive in Denver. But medical marijuana was not the focus of the search or the investigation, authorities said.
Federal agents did seize marijuana during the searches because although it is legal to possess medical marijuana in Colorado, the drug remains illegal under federal law.
Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com
