ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando man is accused of stealing more than $150,000 in donations from numerous churches in Florida.
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United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced the return of an indictment charging Ionut Vaduva, 34, with 11 counts of bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Vaduva faces up to 30 years in federal prison on each bank fraud count, a consecutive minimum mandatory penalty of two years imprisonment for each aggravated identity theft count, and payment of restitution to the victims he defrauded.
According to the indictment, Vaduva, a Romanian national, is alleged to have obtained donation checks made payable to various religious institutions by stealing them from mail receptacles at churches located throughout the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere.
Checks were reportedly stolen from eight churches in Orlando, Altamont Springs, Apopka, Winter Springs, and Ocoee.
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Vaduva allegedly deposited the stolen checks, using ATM machines, into various bank accounts that he controlled. In total, Vaduva deposited more than $154,000 in stolen donation checks into his accounts, according to the indictment.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service – Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Shannon Laurie will prosecute it.
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