Preliminary hearing of the case of Former Armenian Consul in LA Norayr Ghalumian was held in Santa Ana (California) Federal Court on August 24.

Ghalumian and four more people were pleaded not guilty to a charge of obstructing immigration proceedings in document forgery to help immigrants avoid deportation.

As NEWS.am informed earlier, as a result of a two-year investigation, five people, including a former Armenian consul in LA Norayr Ghalumian, have been arrested on charges that they sold official letters to illegal immigrants to help them avoid deportation. The five are accused of supplying so-called letters of refusal from the Armenian Consulate for as much as $35,000 apiece. Many of those who purchased the letters were Armenian nationals facing deportation after being convicted of felony offenses in the United States.