Con Man With 'Gold Jewelry' Bilks $4K From 85-Year-Old: Police

PETALUMA, CA — Police in Petaluma arrested a Sacramento man on suspicion of felony financial elder abuse following a weekslong investigation.

The case goes back to May 16 when officers responded to a missing person report around 5:45 p.m. at 259 N. McDowell Blvd. An 85-year-old man was missing after leaving his home to go to the store.

At the time, Petaluma police officers found the victim's car unoccupied in the Trader Joe's parking lot but the victim was nowhere around, Petaluma police Sgt. Ryan McGreevy said.

The missing man's family said that before officers arrived at their house, they briefly spoke to the victim on the phone and heard another man's voice in the background trying to sell him jewelry. They told officers they were unsure where or who he was with.

Officers performed an emergency ping for the victim's cell phone, showing he was in the Cotati area. Officers also learned the man's last bank transaction was at a local casino.

When the victim returned to his car about an hour later, he was met by officers and recounted to them what had just taken place. He told the officers he was approached by a man who wanted to sell him gold jewelry. He said the man drove him to various banks trying to have him withdraw large amounts of cash. The victim withdrew over $4,000 and gave it to the man for the jewelry, and was eventually driven back to the parking lot in Petaluma.

The jewelry turned out to be fake and of minimal value, police said.

The suspect's license plate was captured on the casino's video surveillance. Additional investigative leads identified the suspect as Florian Matei, 25, out of Sacramento.

"[Matei] was contacted by Daly City PD in December 2023 for similar behavior," McGreevy said.

The Petaluma Police Department Investigations Unit took over the case and secured a warrant for Matei's arrest.

On June 7, Petaluma officers were on patrol in the Plaza shopping center when they spotted Matei's car. Officers conducted an enforcement stop and took Matei into custody without incident.

As Matei was booked into the Sonoma County Jail for suspected felony financial elder abuse, his identity was verified through a Fingerprint ID system.

"It was then discovered that Matei had an alias and was a fugitive from justice from Fairfax County, Virginia, having an outstanding arrest warrant for abduction by force and four outstanding warrants for robbery by force," McGreevy said.

Jail records showed Matei remained in custody without bail late Thursday in Sonoma County.