Two Men Charged With Stealing From Elderly Victims In Lake Forest

SANTA ANA, CA — Two men have been charged with using a "distraction scheme" to steal $50,000 from a 79-year-old woman in Huntington Beach and $5,000 from an elderly man in Lake Forest, according to court records obtained Friday.

Stefan Romero Oprea, 40, and Ionut Marius Andrei, 42, pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Thursday to single counts each of burglary, taking property from another and grand theft as well as two counts of theft from an elder adult in excess of $950, all felonies. The two defendants are next due in court Oct. 9 for a pretrial hearing at the West Justice Center in Westminster.

About 11 a.m. Sept. 19, the 79-year-old woman drove to a bank in Huntington Beach, where she withdrew $50,000 and put the money in an envelope and went home, where she was approached by a suspect about noon who asked for directions to a local hospital, sheriff's deputies said. While she was distracted, the other suspect reached into her car and snatched the envelope of cash, deputies alleged.

Deputies said the defendants were also linked to another theft from a 72-year-old man in Lake Forest on Aug. 16. The victim withdrew $5,000 from a bank and went home, where a suspect approached him asking for directions to a hospital, and when he went back to his car, he saw the money was gone, deputies said.

Deputies call this type of crime "bank jugging," which involves thieves who follow customers of bank or check cashing stores who withdraw cash, then follow the victim and distract them long enough to grab their money.

Investigators' advice the public is to pay attention to surroundings and limit distractions such as cell phones when handling large amounts of cash. Anyone who feels they are being followed should call 911.

City News Service