Six individuals of Romanian origin have recently been apprehended in relation to an elaborate counterfeit jewellery scheme taking in unsuspecting shoppers on Kauai. The scheme was unraveled by the local police when they received reports of two suspected individuals engaging in the sale of imitation gold to customers in a Walmart parking lot, as per a statement from the Kauai Police Department.
On February 15, in the evening at around 6 p.m., policemen from KPD rushed to the scene following a report involving two males allegedly peddling fake gold jewellery to innocent patrons in the parking lot of Walmart, under the pretense that they required funds for their car repairs. Despite the duo managing to initially escape the police, the officers managed to obtain a detailed description of their getaway vehicle.
Subsequently, on February 16th, a Romanian citizen domiciled in Washington State, 29-year-old Remus Miclescu, was arrested on the suspicion of driving without a valid driving permit and third-degree theft. Based on a formal commitment to attend all court proceedings, Miclescu was released without being required to post bail.
A few days later, on February 19, the police squad apprehended Constantin Miclescu, a 34-year-old Romanian native residing in New York, alongside Sarai Gheorghe, a 23-year-old also from Romania, who’s been living in Maryland, on charges of suspected fraud.
The next day, February 20, the officers continued their chain of arrests. They apprehended Inilian Constantin from Romania, who at 30 years old was residing in Maryland; the police also arrested Sofian Miclescu, another Romanian national of 28 years age living in New York.
Additionally, two other arrests were made on the same day: Constantin Miclescu, a 26-year-old Romaninan, who had been living in Maryland, and another individual named Remus Miclescu, who, albeit having the same age as Inilian Constantin – 29, hails from Romania but resides in Washington.
The police force was silent on the degree of kinship, if any exists, between the individuals sharing the name Miclescu. Subsequent to their arrests, all six suspects currently await the continuation of investigations while being housed at the holding centre in KPD.
Deputy Chief Mark Ozaki applauded the thorough investigation by his officers along with the discerning observation by the public, emphasizing that this has largely contributed to the dismantling of the elaborate scam.
With these arrests we’ve made significant progress in halting this fraudulent scheme in its tracks’, Ozaki expressed, giving credit to the tireless efforts of his team coupled with the community’s discerning eye.
The scam pulled off by these perpetrators bears a remarkable resemblance to fraudulent attempts that surfaced in 2022. In the earlier incidents, the KPD managed to detain four individuals from Romania.
Those fraudsters, like the ones arrested recently, peddled jewellery of antique or rare description. Their sales pitch involved underselling these supposed treasures under the pretense of urgent need for money.
While promising the public significantly discounted prices for these supposedly rare or antique treasures, these fraudsters cunningly conned unsuspecting buyers into purchasing imitation jewellery.
Much like the recent arrests, the fraudsters in the 2022 incident also needed to raise fast cash, according to their shared storyline. However, similarly to the recent case, investigations revealed that the so-called treasures were, in fact, sham pieces of jewellery.
Although the victims of these scams believed they were obtaining valuable pieces at massively discounted rates because of the alleged sellers’ desperation for money, subsequent assessments unveiled the harsh reality that the jewellery was counterfeit.
In both instances, whether it be the case from 2022 or the recent scam, it seems that the commonality lies in the origin of the fraudsters – Romania, and their exploited tactic of selling ‘treasured’ jewellery deeply discounted due to a desperate need for money.
As investigations proceed, it is hoped that these arrests will serve as a deterrent to other potential fraudsters and that they will strengthen the commitment of local law enforcement agencies to protect their communities from such fraudulent schemes.