Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution secured 40-year prison sentences for three members of a Romanian crime ring involved in a multi-state theft operation targeting schools and churches.
Panait Dumitru, Catalin Trandafir, and Simona Trandafir were found guilty by a Fort Myers jury on multiple charges including racketeering, conspiracy, grand theft, money laundering, aggravated white-collar crime, and unlawful possession of personal identification information.
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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation revealed that the crime ring stole over $800,000 by taking checks from the mailboxes of more than 250 churches and schools across Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Attorney General Ashley Moody commented on the case, stating, “Florida is a law-and-order state, and we work hard to hold criminals accountable. This Romanian crime ring targeted seniors and stole more than $800,000 from churches and schools across six states. Thanks to the efforts of law enforcement and our Statewide Prosecutors, we have brought these criminals to justice.”
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FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass praised the investigation, highlighting the agency’s detailed analysis and cross-regional coordination, which were crucial to dismantling the operation and presenting the case clearly in court.
The crime ring, which operated out of Orlando from 2019 to 2021, stole checks from church and school mailboxes, using crowbars to break into secured mailboxes. The stolen checks were deposited into a network of 59 bank accounts created with forged documents. The defendants funneled more than 1,600 checks totaling over $800,000 through these accounts.
In addition to the three sentenced members, two other defendants, both named Marius Dumitru, are currently fugitives. Another group member, Ionut Raducan, previously pled guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in Florida state prison.
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