A Romanian national has been arrested in Delray Beach for allegedly targeting elderly people in what’s known as a “good Samaritan” scam.
Delray Beach police said surveillance video from a Whole Foods store shows 32-year-old Romica Aciocanasei following a woman out of the store.
“The suspect says, ‘hey, you dropped a 20, waves a 20 (dollar bill) in front of her, and tells her to put it in her wallet. As she opens up her wallet, you could actually see him put his hand over her wallet and remove her debit card,” Delray Beach police Detective Gio Milicchio said.
The video shows he said he was able to take the woman’s card without her even noticing.
Milicchio said this wasn’t an isolated incident. He said Aciocanasei, who’s been using a fake identity, is tied to a statewide crime ring targeting older adults from Palm Beach County to Pinellas County, and even Texas.
The case is now part of a larger statewide investigation involving multiple agencies. They call it a distraction scam.
“Usually they would target big box grocery stores. They would stand behind the victim in line. As the victim was punching their PIN number into the little terminal, they would watch them punch their PIN number in,” Milicchio said.
He said once they have the PIN, they’ll then approach their target, claiming they dropped cash to get into their wallet or purse.
“He was definitely working with at least five to six other people doing the same thing. Dressing the same, they all had thick beards, they all tried to look alike so they could throw people off,” Milicchio said.
Milicchio said surveillance video shows him using stolen debit cards just minutes after the theft, sometimes withdrawing thousands of dollars in cash at multiple locations.
Aciocanasei was finally caught outside the Whole Foods store in January after he and a female accomplice were seen approaching multiple shoppers. She ran, but police were able to detain him.
“We were never able to get anything on him, just a surveillance video. Since they were foreigners, nobody was ever able to locally ID them,” Milicchio said.
According to investigators, Aciocanasei also has a criminal history in Europe and may be tied to a larger Romanian theft ring operating in the U.S.
Aciocanasei, who’s facing charges ranging from grand theft to racketeering, is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail.
