Police in Florida arrested a group of thieves who reportedly stole more than $740,000 from hundreds of churches across the United States.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced the remaining suspects were arrested on May 29 for involvement in “Operation Thou Shalt Not Steal.”
FDLE started their investigation in December after the Cape Coral Police Department identified 24 victim churches within Lee County plus additional churches outside their jurisdiction that were burglarized.
Good News – All Operation Thou Shalt Not Steal suspects in custody!
Catalin Trandafir and Simona Trandafir were taken into custody in Tijuana, Mexico with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Mexican law enforcement officials. https://t.co/uFvOzddWON pic.twitter.com/62Pyh2jjJ4— FDLE (@fdlepio) June 3, 2021
Authorities say six suspects, all from Romania, operated mostly out of Orlando. The thieves traveled throughout Florida and into other states, stealing donations from church mailboxes.
They stole from as many as 85 churches a day and some were stolen from more than once.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Churches depend on donations from generous members of the community to operate and serve those in need. It is despicable that this crime ring would exploit the selfless acts of kindness displayed through these donations for selfish greed. Thank you, to the law enforcement agencies that worked with my Office of Statewide Prosecution to bring these criminals to justice.”
The suspects worked under a well-thought-out plan, using different aliases in which to deposit the stolen checks and used multiple bank accounts.
After depositing the money, they withdrew the funds through ATMs before banks had enough time to recognize the discrepancy.
“This low-tech yet well-organized effort to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of mailed-in charitable donations – at a time when donations may have been most needed – has been stopped,” said FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen. “I appreciate the commitment of our investigators, analysts, Cape Coral PD, and the Office of Statewide Prosecution for putting these criminals behind bars.”
The suspects, which range in age from 27 to 45 years old, purchased vehicles, clothing, and food items with the stolen donations. They also wired money to Romania.
Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore noted, “I am extremely proud of the hard work our detectives put into this investigation. I am equally grateful for the longstanding partnership our agency has with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.”
The investigating officers say more than 1,500 checks were stolen from 636 churches, including 355 Florida churches.
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