SAN DIEGO—Six Romanian citizens have been charged with allegedly taking part in robberies and thefts of elderly San Diego County residents, as well as laundering $1.4 million in proceeds from the crimes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced March 14.
Married couple Eduard Ghiocel, 47, and Floarea Ghiocel, 48, are in custody, while four other associates of the “Valcea Romanian Transnational Crime Group” remain at large, said prosecutors. Those defendants are the Ghiocels’ two sons, a daughter-in-law, and a girlfriend of one of the sons, according to a criminal complaint.
The defendants allegedly took part in 17 jewelry thefts between March 2020 and September 2022 in “elderly communities” in San Diego, while the Valcea Crime Group is suspected in “dozens” of similar crimes throughout the county, according to prosecutors….