2 linked to Romanian crime ring targeting Asians arrested in California
By Carl Samson
Police in San Jose, California, arrested two suspects linked to a Romanian organized crime group that has been targeting elderly Asians for months.
About the suspects: Mogos Constantin, 35, and Renaldo Vaduva, 19, were arrested in connection with 25 separate crimes — including armed robbery, armed carjacking, strong arm robbery and grand theft — reported between July and October. Authorities seized $13,000 in cash, three vehicles and evidence linking them to jewelry scams, Facebook Marketplace scams, credit card skimmers and money laundering in search warrants served at residences in San Jose and Livermore.
About the group: Constantin and Vaduva are believed to be part of a Romanian organized crime ring that has been targeting senior members of the Asian community. In one scheme, the suspects would travel in a car, ask victims for directions and slyly take their jewelry — and replace them with fake ones — while engaging them in conversation.
The suspects have also posed as general contractors offering paving, plumbing or roofing services to gain access to their victims’ homes. Women involved in the crimes are also said to wear traditional clothing, which police describe as Middle Eastern- or Indian-style.
Report information: Crimes committed by the group are on the rise, police said. Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Grodin of the San Jose Police Department’s Robbery Unit at (408) 277-4166 or 4591@sanjoseca.gov.
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