Woman denies selling fake Disneyland tickets to families

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A 22-year-old Hollywood woman pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that she defrauded several families by selling them bogus Disneyland tickets on Craigslist, police said.

Alisa Yenokyan is charged with seven felony counts of forgery and one felony count of grand theft stemming from her arrest Wednesday, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court criminal complaint.

Glendale detectives said Yenokyan posted ads on Craigslist, indicating that she was selling Disneyland tickets for $50 each. Tickets purchased directly from Disneyland cost up to $87 for a regular day pass.

At least half a dozen families reported purchasing Disneyland e-tickets from Yenokyan at her apartment in Glendale, according to Det. Jonathan Owen. Yenokyan often provided the families with a photocopy of a fake identification card in an effort to demonstrate she was a legitimate seller, he added.

Some families were turned away at the park’s gates in Anaheim when workers spotted the fake passes, Owen said.

When families confronted Yenokyan for a refund, she reportedly ignored their calls and refused to return their money.

Yenokyan had been advertising and selling the fraudulent passes to unsuspecting families for several years, Owen added.

But detectives on Wednesday said they were finally able to catch up with Yenokyan, who had moved out of her Glendale apartment and was living in hotels in Hollywood.

They posed as potential buyers and contacted her via a phone number she posted on her Craigslist ad, Owen said. Detectives arranged a meeting at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles to purchase four Disneyland tickets for $50 each, Owen said.

Once they spotted Yenokyan, they arrested her.

-- Veronica Rocha, Times Community News.