Police in South Carolina have reportedly busted a multi-state fraud ring run by two Romanian-born women living in Virginia and using 11-year-olds and young children to scam people.
Witnesses and victims of the crime syndicate told Lawrence police that the women were using the children as a ploy to get people to buy presents and gift cards. Police said the women demanded receipts for the gifts and exchanged them for cash.
The Romanian women allegedly defrauded several people in the process and were eventually arrested in a Walmart parking lot on Friday.
Corporal Miguel Catalan of the Lawrence Police Department told local news station WJCL on Friday that the Walmart parking lot was full of police cruisers for the “Cruiser Assortment” event, where law enforcement was collecting children’s Christmas presents. He said he was working to collect donations.
During the event, police reportedly spotted a woman and boy running out of Walmart with a cart full of merchandise and running toward a broken-down van carrying another woman and an infant, the store said. There is.
“They had over $3,500 in cash, probably another $3,000 to $4,000 worth of merchandise, and probably another three grand in gift cards that had yet to be cashed,” Police Chief Keith told WJCL. .
Upon further investigation, police found receipts in the vehicle showing that the women, Lydia Varga, 33, and Yasmina Rostas, 24, had defrauded customers in multiple states along the East Coast. . Gronsel told the outlet that she believes the woman defrauded people and stores out of tens of thousands of dollars.
Gronsel revealed that these types of scams tend to spike during the holiday season.
“They ask you to keep your receipt, which is unusual, or they say you need this or can you give me a gift card to buy this,” he told the magazine. “Those are not signs of a very poor person.”
While police worked to catch the culprit, Catalans were preoccupied with their infant.
“[It was]kind of heartbreaking. You know, my fiancé and I just had a miscarriage,” he told the news outlet.
Catalan held the baby in her arms and nursed her in the warm back seat of the police car.
“It hurt a little bit, but at the same time I was so happy that I was able to take care of her. She was such a beautiful baby. She had little blue eyes and was so cute. I ended up throwing up.” Yes,” he told the magazine with a laugh.
Varga and Rostas are charged with conspiracy to defraud, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of a canceled identification card, disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer’s investigation and lying, according to a Facebook post from the Lawrence Police Department. He was arrested and charged with obtaining merchandise. Pretense and child abuse.
The two children are in DSS custody, and the police chief told the outlet there are signs that the children are being neglected.