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Romanian Man Sentenced in International Fraud Scheme
A Romanian man has been sentenced to 63 months in prison for his role in receiving and sending overseas approximately $690,000 in proceeds from an international fraud scheme involving online marketplace websites, as well as for the use of a fraudulent passport.
Razvan Caprarescu, 39, originally of Bucharest, Romania, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud in connection with his participation in the online marketplace scheme. Caprarescu also pleaded guilty to using a false, forged, and counterfeit Belgian passport.
Caprarescu’s co-conspirators fraudulently listed vehicles for sale at online marketplaces such as eBay. When victims expressed interest in purchasing the vehicles, the co-conspirators responded with emails directing the victims to wire payments to specified bank accounts. These bank accounts were opened by Caprarescu and another co-conspirator using false identities and fraudulent documents.
Eighteen victims sent approximately $367,036 to accounts opened by Caprarescu between October 2011 and June 2012. Another 17 victims sent approximately $321,389 to accounts opened by Caprarescu’s co-conspirator. Caprarescu and his co-conspirator subsequently sent the bulk of the money to co-conspirators located overseas.
Caprarescu also admitted that he used a false Belgian passport bearing an alias to rent a mailbox at a U.S. Pak-n-Ship store located in Broward County, Florida.
U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida, Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and U.S. Attorney David Rivera of the Middle District of Tennessee made the announcement. U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles of the Southern District of Florida imposed the sentence.
Caprarescu was ordered to pay $658,441 in restitution in addition to serving his prison term. The cases were investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alicia Shick of the Southern District of Florida, Senior Counsel Mysti Degani of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Byron M. Jones of the Middle District of Tennessee.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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