Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- Authorities announced charges Wednesday against 99 members of a transnational organized crime group in southern California called the Armenian Power , whose enterprise allegedly collected $ 20 million through kidnapping , extortion , bank fraud and narcotics trafficking . About 800 law enforcement officers on Wednesday arrested 74 of the 99 members and associates of the Armenian Power , which allegedly has ties to high-level crime figures in Armenia , Russia and Georgia , authorities said . The remainder are being sought , authorities said . In all , the crime group is believed to have more than 200 members , authorities said . `` This is a significant step in disrupting this organization , '' U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. in Los Angeles said during a press conference . The charges came after a two-year investigation into the organization , according to local and federal authorities in the joint Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force . Two federal indictments unsealed Wednesday named 88 defendants linked to Armenian Power , and the Los Angeles County District Attorney has charged 11 more gang members in seven cases , authorities said . The Armenian Power also allegedly engaged in more than 400 acts of identity theft , credit card skimming , manufacturing counterfeit checks , bank fraud , health care fraud , marijuana distribution and illegal gambling , authorities said . Birotte said the group 's crime schemes caused losses of $ 10 million in Orange County , California , and another $ 10 million in Los Angeles . Among the alleged conspiracies , Armenian Power members allegedly defrauded hundreds of customers of 99 Cents Only Stores when they secretly installed `` skimming '' devices to steal customer account information at cash registers and then used the information to make counterfeit debit and credit cards , authorities said . Managers at the 99 Cents Only Stores contacted authorities when they learned of the scheme , Birotte said . The fraud netted $ 2 million for the gang , authorities said . In the Orange County case , which names 20 defendants , Armenian Power members allegedly targeted elderly people in a bank fraud scheme , and members also worked with African-American street gangs and allegedly bribed bank insiders to gather information that allowed them to take over bank accounts , authorities said . Members of Armenian Power have a heritage going back to Armenia and other Eastern Bloc countries , and the crime group started as a street gang in East Hollywood , California , in the 1980s , authorities said . Members identify themselves with tattoos , graffiti and gang clothing , but the organization is more concerned with racketeering than controlling `` turf , '' authorities said . Armenian Power , also known as AP-13 , has close ties with the prison gang Mexican Mafia , which controls much of the narcotics distribution in California 's prisons , and maintains connections with Russian and Armenian crime figures known as `` Thieves-in-Law , '' authorities said . `` The indictments that target the Armenian Power organized crime enterprise provide a window into a group that appears willing to do anything and everything illegal to make a profit , '' Birotte said . `` These types of criminal organizations -- through the use of extortions , kidnappings and other violent acts -- have demonstrated a willingness to prey upon members of their own community . '' In separate actions brought by federal authorities in Miami and Denver , and announced along with the Los Angeles indictments by the Department of Justice , 14 additional defendants , some of whom are linked to Armenian Power , were charged Wednesday with extortion , money laundering and fraud offenses , among other crimes , authorities said . `` The common denominator among these defendants and their criminal enterprises is their willingness to commit any crime for profit , and to use any means of violence and intimidation to further their goals , '' Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer of the Justice Department 's Criminal Division said at a press conference held in the police department of Glendale , California , home to a large Armenian community . `` In less than one month , however , the department has undertaken the largest one-day takedown of La Cosa Nostra ; a coordinated national effort against street gangs ; and today , taken action against Armenian Power and others with ties to international organized crime , '' Breuer said , reading from a prepared statement . In one alleged kidnapping , several Armenian Power members forced a man to pay ransom by taking him to an auto body shop belonging to a group member and then threatening him with violence , authorities said . In an alleged extortion scheme lasting months , the victim and his family were forced to make repeated payments under threats , authorities said .
The Armenian Power has ties to Armenia , Russia and Georgia crime figures . Its membership is believed to be more than 200 . Authorities have charged 99 of the members .