There are more legal woes for Fresno businessman Kirk Vartanian. On Thursday morning, state DMV investigators and Fresno police raided his Auto Gallery at Shaw and Blackstone. The luxury auto dealership closed its doors about two weeks ago. A spokesman on scene said investigators were looking for evidence in 7 complaints filed involving theft and embezzlement totaling around $1 million. The complaints allege that the auto dealership kept money from cars it sold on consignment, as well as taking money for cars that were never delivered to the buyers.
Vartanian remains in the Fresno County jail, being held because of an arrest warrant out of Las Vegas in which he is accused of writing a total of $250,000 in bad checks to two Las Vegas casinos. He has also been charged with several felony counts involving an incident last week in which his wife accused him of hitting her and trying to suffocate her. Vartanian pleaded not guilty to those charges on Wednesday.