A California couple who were convicted of running a scheme that defrauded the government of millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds cut their electronic bracelets and fled while awaiting sentencing, officials said last week. Richard Ayvazyan, 43, and his wife, Marietta Terabelian, 37, used false identifies to claim money that was meant for small businesses and individuals who had suffered pandemic-related losses, according to federal prosecutors. “The defendants used the COVID-19 crisis to steal millions of dollars in much-needed government aid intended for people and businesses suffering from the economic effects of the worst pandemic in a century,” U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison said in a statement released by the Department of Justice. Terabelian, Ayvazyan, and Artur Ayvazyan were sentenced on Nov. 16 to six years, 17 years, and five years, respectively, according to the DOJ in a news release. Artur Ayvazyan, the brother of Richard Ayvazyan, didn’t flee, officials said. “The FBI …