The intended target of an alleged $50million kidnapping plot that saw an innocent elderly man mistakenly abducted is a wealthy property developer who has been pictured living the high life in Las Vegas and Monaco, wearing $7,000 tracksuits.
Chris Baghsarian, 85, was taken from his North Ryde home at 5am on February 13 and later killed. However, it is alleged the kidnappers actually planned to snatch the father of former criminal Dimitri Stepanyan, 37, who lived three doors down.
Unverified texts have surfaced which appear to show the kidnappers demanded the huge amount of cash from Stepanyan in exchange for his father, only to find out they had the wrong person.
A source has now told Daily Mail that Stepanyan’s parents, Varo and Vanush, were flown out of Australia on Tuesday and will move into their son’s property in Armenia, where he has made a fortune in commercial and residential real estate.
They said Stepanyan is head of his family and will make sure they are safe, but that he also feels ‘terrible’ for Mr Baghsarian, who he knew as his parents’ ‘friendly’ neighbour of 20 years.
‘He described Chris and his family as very good people and Chris was a harmless gentleman that was friendly and loved by all the neighbours and had no links to the underworld,’ they said.
Stepanyan has been described as a Sydney businessman who used to run the fashion label Proper Streetwear, but the source said that label is actually run by his friend and that the 37-year-old left Australia last August and hasn’t returned since.
Unearthed photos show Stepanyan posing while wearing thousands of dollars worth of gear in a range of international locations, including prime seats with a glamorous brunette at a Premier League soccer match in London.
Pictured: Dimitri Stepanyan standing in Las Vegas wearing a $7,000 white matching Willy Chavarria tracksuit with white Nike Aire Force 1 sneakers
Pictured: Stepanyan, 37, in prime seats with a glamorous brunette at a soccer match in London in August 2023
Chris Baghsarian was snatched from his home in North Ryde on February 13 in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity
One picture showed Stepanyan standing in Las Vegas wearing a $7,000 white matching Willy Chavarria tracksuit with white Nike Air Force 1 sneakers.
Another photo showed him walking down a street wearing a $450 Rivington Roi Rebis t-shirt.
‘Dimitri Stepanyan is a name synonymous with ambition, creativity, and success,’ an archived version of his personal website says.
‘As a dynamic entrepreneur and the visionary behind Proper Streetwear, he has redefined the world of fashion and business.’
The description has since been deleted and business records suggest Stepanyan does not run the business anymore.
It has also been reported he was an associate of the Alameddine crime family, but the source claimed this was incorrect.
It follows a legal source with knowledge of some of the major players in Sydney’s underworld telling Daily Mail those responsible for the botched abduction would be killed.
‘I’m told the fools who did this will be eliminated – for killing the wrong guy, but (also) for having the audacity to plan the abduction of the real target,’ the source said.
Stepanyan is pictured in a $450 Rivington Roi Rebis t-shirt
Stepanyan reportedly left Australia in 2025 and hasn’t returned
Pictured: An archived screenshot from Stepanyan’s website
‘They won’t survive. These blokes are going to end up dead regardless of where they are. Even Supermax can’t keep them safe.’
They also said Stepanyan was ‘incensed’ his family had been publicly identified as the real target of the kidnapping, and is ‘on the warpath’ to find out who leaked his name.
In leaked texts reportedly with the kidnappers, Stepanyan allegedly said the abduction was a ‘dumb dumb error’.
‘How did [you] get the wrong house? Dumb. God was with you. My old man would of blown your head off,’ a person, allegedly Stepanyan, told them.
‘Good luck next time. You f**n dopes.’
It is not suggested Stepanyan would seek to kill those responsible for the botched abduction.
On Wednesday, two men were arrested and charged in connection to the botched kidnapping.
Daniel Stevens, 24, and Gerard Andrews, 29, were charged with murder and take/detain in company with intent to ransom occasion actual bodily harm.
The body of Mr Baghsarian was found around 40km away from his home where he was taken
Gerard Andrew suffered a humiliating wardrobe malfunction during his arrest on Wednesday
Daniel Stevens and Gerard Andrews have been charged with the grandfather’s murder
They were refused bail to appear in Blacktown Local Court on Thursday.
It comes as NSW Police released footage of heavily-armed officers forcing entry into two properties in Kenthurst and Castle Hill on Wednesday morning.
Andrews suffered a humiliating wardrobe malfunction when his jeans fell down to his ankles as he was dragged into the back of a police car by tactical police.
The man was also wearing a fake designer T-shirt with the slogan ‘original Gucci’.
Stevens was shirtless and barefoot when he was arrested at a property in nearby Castle Hill.
Mr Baghsarian was asleep when a group of men smashed in his front window and forced him into a vehicle.
They reportedly severed his finger while he was in captivity, and later dumped his body in scrub on the perimeter of a golf course in Pitt Town.
Police swarmed the scene after his body was uncovered on Tuesday morning, believed to be on a disused turf farm between a golf course and vegetable farms.
No ransom demands were made to Mr Baghsarian’s family, who last week described the 85-year-old as a ‘deeply loved and devoted father, brother, uncle and grandfather’.
Police believe more people may be involved in Baghsarian’s alleged kidnap and murder.
