FLORIDA — Three members of a crime ring that operated out of Orlando have been sentenced to 40 years in prison for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from schools and churches across six states.
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According to Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Fort Myers jury found Panait Dumitru, Catalin Trandafir, and Simona Trandafir guilty of multiple charges, including racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, grand theft, money laundering, aggravated white-collar crime, and unlawful possession of personal identification information.
A Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation revealed that the group—reportedly a Romanian crime ring that operated from 2019 to 2021 out of Orlando—stole more than $800,000 in checks from over 250 churches and schools across Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Ms Moody commended law enforcement and prosecutors for dismantling the operation.
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“Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners and our Statewide Prosecutors, we have stopped this illicit operation, and three group members will now serve serious time behind bars,” she said.
FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass emphasized the agency’s role in securing the convictions, highlighting their work from detailed analysis to courtroom testimony.
During the trial, more than 60 religious leaders testified about the thefts from their congregations. The ring funneled over 1,600 checks through 59 bank accounts, ultimately stealing over $800,000.
Two other alleged members of the group are currently at large, while another has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
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