Two men have been arrested for allegedly posing as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to steal money from Latino residents, according to the Anaheim Police Department.
Law enforcement officials said they responded to back-to-back robberies Thursday between 5 and 6 p.m.. —the first in the 900 block of South Euclid Street and the second at the intersection of Brookhurst Street and La Palma Avenue. Several hours later, they identified the suspects as Laurentiu Baceanu and Vasile Alexandru, 19, according to a news release.
According to the victims' testimony to police, the two men spoke Spanish, presented fake license plates, and proceeded to forcibly take money from residents before leaving in a blue van.
Anaheim police said Baceanu was 19 years old, but Orange County jail records show he is 20 years old.
Impersonating a federal agent is a crime that can carry up to three years in prison, and there is a possibility you could face additional charges locally. None of the men were armed, police said. Both are being held without bail and face several robbery charges.
Last year, a Santa Ana grand jury indicted a San Ysidro man for stealing $200,000 from undocumented immigrants seeking legal help with their immigration status. In 2018, another man was sentenced to eight months in prison after disguising himself as an ICE officer to extort $5,000 from a woman under threat of deportation.
Anaheim police are working with local, state and federal agencies as part of the investigation, said Sgt. Jon McClintock. The U.S. attorney's office in Santa Ana declined to comment on the case. The Orange County District Attorney's office did not respond to a phone call or email request for comment.
Anaheim is not the only municipality dealing with fake ICE officials, McClintock said. The department has been collaborating with other agencies in California, investigating similar robberies that have been occurring “for several weeks across the state,” he said. “We think they are connected.”
He said he knows of at least five identical robberies that occurred in Anaheim and more throughout Orange County. The department is investigating whether any other suspects or accomplices are involved. Detectives say they believe the vehicles involved in this series of thefts include a silver or gray Volkswagen Atlas SUV and a blue Audi Q7 SUV.
McClintock asked other victims to come forward. The detective assigned to the case is John Carey, who can be reached at (714) 765-1973 or [email protected]
He added that undocumented victims do not have to fear for their legal immigration status if they report a crime, and said his department does not cooperate with federal ICE officials.
“We will not ask about your [citizenship]McClintock said. “It could be relevant, potentially to some type of crime if it's related, but the Anaheim Police Department will not be enforcing any type of immigration enforcement.” [law].”
