39-year-old Constantin Florian, provided by Toronto Police
A Milton woman is among five people arrested in connection with an ongoing elderly Distraction Theft investigation.
Back on November 12th, the Toronto Police Service arrested two men and three women. It is alleged that between Sunday, December 10th, 2023, and Saturday, October 19th, 2024, the suspects attended several banks and retail stores for the purpose of conducting distraction thefts. The suspects specifically targeted elderly victims using various techniques to obtain PINs, and steal wallets and bank cards. They would then attend various banks, withdrawing funds from the victims’ accounts to fraudulently purchase pre-paid credit cards, that were then used to buy high-end luxury items and electronics
Following a thorough investigation, investigators were able to identify the suspects, and a search warrant was conducted. During the execution of a search warrant, the following items were seized by police:
- eight iPhone 15 Pro Max
- 50 smart watches
- 56 bottles of designer perfume
- 21 Fraudulent Pre-Paid Vanilla Credit Cards totaling $10,500
- $23,000 in Canadian Currency
- lock-picking tools
- 32 OLG Pro-Line tickets
- two foil lined booster bags
- multiple fraudulent passports
- four fraudulently obtained vehicles were identified as shipped overseas totaling approximately $250,000
39-year-old Constantin Florian of Montreal, Quebec has been arrested and charged with:
- Robbery
- 10 counts of Theft Under $5000
- Fraud Over $5000
- 17 counts of Fraud Under $5000
- 22 counts of Use Credit Card Obtained by Offence
- 14 counts of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000
- Possession of Proceeds of Crime Over $5000
- Possess Forged or Altered Passport
He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, January 14th.
44-year-old Virgil Barbu of Laval, Quebec has been charged with:
- three counts of Theft Under $5000
- Fraud Over $5000
- seven counts of Fraud Under $5000
- eight counts of Use Credit Card Obtained by Offence
- Possession of Proceeds of Crime Over $5000
- Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Over $5000
- Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000
He is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, January 14th.
40-year-old Aura-Floria Florian of No Fixed Address has been charged with:
- Theft Under $5000
- Fraud Over $5000
- Use Credit Card Obtained by Offence
- Possession of Proceeds of Crime Over $5000
She is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, January 13th.
49-year-old Dumitrita Pauniou of Milton has been charged with:
- Possession of Proceeds of Crime Over $5000
- Fail to Comply with Probation Order
She is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, January 21st.
32-year-old Andreea Popa of No Fixed Address has been charged with:
- Possession of Proceeds of Crime Over $5000
She is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, January 21st.
The following two men are wanted by police in relation to the same investigation for the following offences:
- 46-year-old Vasile-Virgil Rata of No Fixed Address is wanted for:
- two counts of Theft Under $5000
- two counts of Fraud Under $5000
- Use Credit Card Obtained by Offence
- Possess Forged or Altered Passport
- 52-year-old Eugen Catruna of No Fixed Address is wanted for:
- five counts of Theft Under $5000
- five counts of Fraud Under $5000
- five counts of Use Credit Card Obtained by Offence
- five counts of Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000
The investigation is ongoing and investigators anticipate additional charges and arrests to be made.
Police believe that there may be more elderly people who have been victimized by this group, as this appears to be an organized operation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
