Romanian nationals Laurentiu Baceanu, left, and Alexandru Vasile have been every charged Monday with 11 felony counts of second-degree theft and 11 felony hate crime enhancements in Orange County.
(Orange County district legal professional’s workplace)
Two males who allegedly posed as immigration brokers and threatened to deport Latino avenue distributors and day laborers throughout a sequence of robberies in Orange County have been charged with hate crimes and different offenses, authorities stated Wednesday.
The lads allegedly approached staff whereas sporting pretend badges and recognized themselves as brokers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI or native police, in accordance with the Orange County district legal professional’s workplace.
One of many suspects later instructed police that he “focused Hispanic males as a result of they’ve money,” and “they’re scared resulting from their immigration standing and wouldn’t name the police,” prosecutors stated throughout a courtroom listening to Monday.
Laurentiu Baceanu, 20, and Alexandru Vasile, 19 — each Romanian nationals — have been charged Monday with 11 felony counts of second-degree theft and 11 felony hate crime enhancements, the district legal professional’s workplace stated.
Baceanu and Vasile have pleaded not responsible and are scheduled to seem in courtroom on July 2.
Prosecutors say they imagine Baceanu and Vasile are undocumented immigrants with ties to Romanian organized crime. They have been additionally charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and robberies in Contra Costa County on Monday and are suspected of comparable offenses in Santa Clara County, in addition to in New York and Washington state, Orange County prosecutors stated.
They’re being held with out bail and can be tried in Orange County first earlier than going through expenses within the different jurisdictions, in accordance with authorities.
Officers with the Anaheim Police Division arrested Baceanu and Vasile on Thursday after two robberies within the metropolis that day, together with one during which the boys allegedly robbed three day staff in a Dwelling Depot parking zone after asking to see their identification. Not lengthy after, authorities say, the suspects stole $600 from a person they stopped and threatened to deport as he walked down the road, claiming they have been ICE brokers.
Officers later discovered Baceanu and Vasile in Fullerton, driving a blue Audi Q7 SUV, in accordance with the Anaheim Police Division.
Prosecutors say the Anaheim robberies have been half of a bigger sample during which the suspects demanded cash and debit playing cards from people whereas threatening them in Spanish. There are 11 reported victims in Orange County, in accordance with authorities.
They embody a avenue vendor in Tustin who was allegedly approached by two males at his meals cart on June 8. The lads stated they have been law enforcement officials and requested for the seller’s identification, in accordance with authorities. The lads claimed they have been on the lookout for counterfeit payments and demanded the person’s cash whereas threatening to deport him. They stole $380 and a Mexican identification card from the seller.
Per week later, on June 15, a father and his son strolling on the road in Tustin have been approached by two males in a blue Audi. They claimed they have been FBI brokers and have been trying to find somebody, and demanded the daddy and son present them identification. They then requested whether or not the cash of their wallets was actual.
When the daddy and son grew to become suspicious and known as the police, the boys drove away.
Later that day, a person using his bicycle house from work in Westminster stated he was approached by two males who claimed to be ICE brokers, in accordance with prosecutors. They demanded the person’s identification and cash and threatened he can be deported if he didn’t take heed to them, authorities stated.
Two days later, two males approached a person in a restaurant parking zone and recognized themselves as immigration brokers. They stole the person’s cash, in accordance with prosecutors, alongside together with his debit card and PIN quantity.
A day later, a person instructed the Westminster Police Division that two males had stolen cash utilizing the banking app on his cellphone after he handed it over to them. Prosecutors say the boys recognized themselves as immigration brokers and likewise stole the person’s debit card.
On June 18, two males who claimed to be immigration brokers stole $800 from a girl in Anaheim after saying they wanted to see her immigration paperwork, in accordance with authorities.
“The humiliation and concern these people inflicted on their victims due to their perceived ethnicity is nothing wanting disgusting. In Orange County, we won’t tolerate hate and any crime motivated by somebody’s ethnicity or race can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the legislation,” Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer stated in an announcement Wednesday.
Authorities are asking anybody who believes they could have been a sufferer of the same crime to contact their native police division or Orange County Crime Stoppers at (855) TIP-OCCS (847-6227) or occrimestoppers.org.
This isn’t the primary time this 12 months that Orange County prosecutors have charged Romanian nationals with allegedly committing crimes regionally.
Practically 50 suspects believed to have ties to a Romanian prison group have been charged in January in reference to a card-skimming operation that focused individuals who obtain authorities help to pay for meals, diapers and different necessities, in accordance with the district legal professional’s workplace.
Authorities have stated a few of these suspects entered the nation illegally at border crossings.
Throughout that point, authorities additionally arrested Florin Duduianu, a needed prison from Romania, who was later convicted of fraudulently accessing authorities help funds, in accordance with prosecutors.
In 2023 alone, California misplaced greater than $108 million in CalWORKs advantages from fraud, which includes individuals stealing cash from particular person’s digital advantages switch accounts, or EBT playing cards, the district legal professional’s workplace stated.
