14 months after arrest warrant is issued amid consumer complaints, suburban moving company owner surrenders
CHICAGO (CBS) -- CBS 2 has been investigating a suburban mover for about a year – and now, the owner of the company has surrendered more than a year after a warrant was issued for his arrest.
As CBS 2's Lauren Victory reported Tuesday, police put out a warrant for Rafael Ohanesyan's arrest 14 months ago. He was finally booked last week when he spent two nights in jail, and his victims are hoping he will be spending a lot more time locked up.
Video posted to Ohanesyan's Instagram page shows at time when Bulls Moving was an active moving company. State records show the Gurnee-based company started in summer 2019.
Packing up might be what Bulls Moving itself is up to now, three years after inception. No one appeared to be in their offices when CBS 2 stopped by, and their number was not in service.
Meanwhile, we have learned Ohanesyan was recently arrested.
"I just felt this sense of peace," said Lindsay Williams, who said she was a victim of Ohanesyan's.
The Chicago-area business owner surrendered to police in DeKalb County, Georgia in the summer.
"He has to answer for what he did to our family," Williams said.
She says Bulls Moving stuffed her tings into a storage facility instead of relocating them from Georgia to Colorado, per her contract.
"The owner of Bulls attempted to get us to pay an additional several thousand dollars in cash to release our belongings, and the detective said, 'Absolutely not,'" Williams said.
Ohanesyan spoke with us in September 2021. He seemed floored when CBS 2's Tim McNicholas told him about a warrant for his arrest.
McNicholas: "They say there's an arrest warrant."
Ohanesyan: "Never heard of it."
At the time, Ohanesyan denied much of the Williams' story – saying there were misunderstandings about the contract and he did not overcharge them.
Ohanesyan: "I'm very sorry about that Mr. Williams didn't understand, from the beginning, the process of the service. Then how can I be responsible, or how can I face criminal charges? Let me ask you this."
McNicholas: "I'm not the prosecutor or the police, but they say…."
Ohanesyan: "That's what I'm telling you guys. It's impossible."
But Ohanesyan has now been arrested. We received his mug shot from last week.
He is charged with felony theft in Williams' case.
The DeKalb County, Georgia Sheriff's office told us Ohanesyan surrendered – 14 months after the warrant was issued.
"I just felt in my body - I felt this huge release," Williams said.
So why turn himself in?
Victory called another number listed on the Bulls Moving website. The person who answered was initially silent, and eventually claimed he was not affiliated with the company.
Our Instagram message to Ohanesyan went unanswered, and the account where we found that video advertising Bulls Moving mysteriously went blank.
So CBS 2 may not have gotten to talk with Ohanesyan again, but Williams did. The mom of two testified at his bond hearing - and told him because of his actions, she has trouble trusting people.
We know she is not the only victim, and this is likely not our final story about Bulls Moving.