The Laurens, South Carolina, Police Department was participating in a Christmas community event recently when they stumbled upon a multistate fraud operation involving two women hailing from Romania.
The duo, identified as Lidia Varga and Iasmina Rostas, was apprehended after an incident at a Laurens Walmart, where they were allegedly exploiting an 11-year-old boy and a newborn baby to orchestrate an elaborate scam.
According to police, a Fill-A-Cruiser event was being held by Laurens police on December 1 in a Walmart parking lot to collect toys and other donations when the women were arrested.
Corporal Miguel Catalan described the initial encounter.
“Essentially, we’re just out there trying to get donations for the kids for Christmas,” he said.
However, police noticed Varga and Rostas, as well as the children, make a quick exit from the store with a cart full of merchandise. They headed to a broken-down van parked nearby.
“They had over $3,500 in cash on them, probably another $3,000 to $4,000 in merchandise, probably another three grand in gift cards that hadn’t been cashed out yet,” Laurens Police Chief Keith Grounsell said.
Further investigation revealed that the women had been executing the same scheme in several states along the East Coast.
They allegedly approached people, using the children to garner sympathy and solicit money, gift cards and specific items from stores.
The items were then exchanged for cash, forming part of what Grounsell believes to be an operation that has defrauded people and businesses of tens of thousands of dollars.
Catalan, who was at the scene, shared a poignant moment when he took care of the newborn baby.
“It kind of hurt, but at the same time, it felt really good just to be able to take care of the kid,” he said.
Varga and Rostas were subsequently arrested and now face a litany of charges, including conspiracy to commit fraud, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of canceled ID, disorderly conduct, hindering officers’ investigation, obtaining goods under false pretenses and cruelty to children.
The two children, who displayed signs of neglect, have been placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services.
Grounsell expressed concern over the prevalence of scams during the holiday season, urging the public to be cautious.
The Laurens Police are collaborating with SLED investigators and the Department of Homeland Security to unravel more details about the scam, suspecting that additional individuals may be involved in this operation.
