An El Paso business owner will pay more than $110,000 in restitution to victims after pleading guilty in a fraud case, admitting he took money from customers and never completed home improvement work, authorities said.
Aryan Marivani, the former owner of the now-dissolved FCS Wrought Iron, pleaded guilty on Friday, April 17, to one count of attempted theft between $30,000 and $150,000, El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez announced in a news release.
Marivani pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement with the county attorney’s office.
Judge William Moody of the 34th District Court sentenced Marivani to three years of deferred adjudication, meaning he will serve three years of probation. He also was sentenced to 100 hours of community service, the plea agreement states.
As part of the plea agreement, Marivani was required to pay $110,640 in restitution to the El Paso County Financial Recovery Division. He paid the restitution before the sentencing and the money is now being distributed to the victims to compensate them for their financial losses, Sanchez said.
“While our office often seeks jail time for those who defraud our community — such as the repeat offender sentenced to 25 years this past December — we prioritize the needs of the victims when deciding how to resolve a case,” Sanchez said in a statement.
“After consulting with the individuals affected by Mr. Marivani’s actions, we determined that securing more than $110,000 in immediate restitution was the best course of action. This outcome ensures that the victims are made whole financially, the defendant is held accountable with a felony guilty plea and his business is permanently dissolved.”
El Paso business owner did not complete work, refused refunds
An investigation into Marivani and his business, FCS Wrought Iron, “revealed a persistent pattern of deceptive business practices dating back to at least 2022,” the news release states.
Marivani’s “typical approach” was soliciting business from homeowners and accepting substantial deposits from residents for custom metal projects, the news release states. The projects included gates, fences and sliding doors.
After Marivani got the victims’ deposits he “frequently failed to deliver the promised services and would give repeated excuses for the delays,” the news release states.
Marivani often refused to return the victims’ money when they demanded a refund, citing restrictive terms and conditions within his contracts, the news release states.
Plea agreement documents show there were at least 21 victims scammed by Marivani. The range of money lost by each victim is between $1,000 to $22,197. At least four victims lost more than $10,000.
Victims of fraud urged to report it
Any El Paso community members who believe that they may be a victim of similar deceptive business practices are urged to report it to the El Paso County Attorney’s Office and law enforcement agencies.
Victims can report business fraud by calling the El Paso County Attorney’s Office’s Deceptive Business Unit at 915-273-3249.
Aaron Martinez covers the criminal justice system for the El Paso Times. He may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man to pay $110,000 in restitution in wrought iron fraud case
Reporting by Aaron Martinez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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