Hate Crime Charges Brought Against Men Who Impersonated ICE Agents In OC Robberies: DA

SANTA ANA, CA — Two men face hate crime charges after they posed as U.S. immigration agents and targeted Hispanic victims in a string of robberies across Orange County, according to authorities.

Laurentiu Baceanu, 20, and Alexandru Vasile, 19, both Romanian nationals, were charged Monday with 11 felony counts of second-degree robbery, accompanied by 11 hate crime enhancements, authorities said.

The pair are believed to be in the U.S. illegally and have ties to Romanian organized crime, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, which noted they also face felony kidnapping, false imprisonment and robbery charges in Contra Costa County.

Baceanu and Vasile wore fake law enforcement badges and spoke Spanish to their victims, threatening to deport them unless they handed over money and debit cards, authorities said, adding the men had a gun in their car during at least one robbery.

Their victims included a street food vendor in Tustin, a man bicycling home from work in Westminster, and three men in a Home Depot parking lot in Anaheim, according to the district attorney’s office. The pair were arrested on June 20 in Fullerton, authorities said.

One of the robbers said he targeted Hispanic men in part because they are less likely to call police due to immigration status, according to the district attorney’s office.

“Criminals with ties to organized Romanian crime are continuing to prey on the most vulnerable of victims here in Orange County and across the nation while using the porous southern border as a direct pipeline to enter the United States with the sole purpose of committing crimes,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release.

“While their victims are struggling to put food on their table and a roof over their children’s heads, these thieves are being trained to carry out these sophisticated operations to prey on people they know are unlikely to come forward to report being victimized and then using their money to help fund the lavish lifestyles that their victims could only dream about.”

In January, authorities announced the arrest of 48 people believed to be tied to Romanian organized crime in a countywide operation to crack down on skimming that targeted recipients of public assistance, according to the news release. Among those arrested was one of Romania’s most wanted criminals, Florin Duduianu, who has since been convicted of fraudulently accessing government assistance funds, authorities said.

Baceanu and Vasile face up to 29 years in prison if convicted in Orange County and are being held without bail, according to the news release. They pleaded not guilty and are set to appear in court for a pretrial hearing Tuesday, authorities said.

Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of similar crimes is asked to contact local police or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855-847-6227 or www.occrimestoppers.org.

City News Service contributed to this story.