A pair of Romanian swindlers, Eduard and Floarea Ghiocel, have been hit with a hard time in the slammer after milking millions in an elaborate scheme that preyed on the old and exploited pandemic aid. The couple, who washed $1.4 million from jewelry heists and jobless fraud during the COVID crisis, will serve 36 and 30 months, respectively, per the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California.
Eduard, aka "Filica," and his wife Floarea, sometimes going by "Floarea Alexandru," colluded with an international gang that ripped off seniors in San Diego County to 17 major thefts and heists, the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego revealed on Monday. The couple then pawned the jewels in LA, fattened their wallets with dodgy unemployment claims—including bagging about $32,250 from the Golden State's safety net—and funneled the loot overseas. They admitted to wiring cash to Romania and buying up bars of gold, coins, and luxury vehicles.
As part of the plea, the swindlers agreed to forfeit ill-gotten baubles, including a duo of Lamborghini Urus, a 2020 Ferrari Portofino, and a BMW X4—all nabbed by the law in Romania. These forfeitures will cough up some dough to cover the losses of those they duped.
Federal prosecutors, backed by agencies from the DOJ's Office of International Affairs to Romanian crime fighters, pieced together the case against them. With 23CR0386-LAB burned into their records, the couple faces heavy fines looming up to $500,000, or double the funds they so greedily grasped.
