(The Center Square) – From a Romanian theft ring to a notorious Big Boi drug trafficking ring, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s Office of Statewide Prosecution is continuing to prosecute transnational criminal organizations.
She’s also issued a warning to criminals: “Florida law enforcement will track you down, and my statewide prosecutors will ensure you end up in prison.”
In one case, Moody’s office secured 40-year prison sentences for three members of a Romanian crime ring that targeted and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from schools and churches. A Fort Myers jury found Panait Dumitru, Catalin Trandafir and Simona Trandafir guilty of multiple felonies including racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, grand theft, money laundering, aggravated white-collar crime, and unlawful possession of personal identification information.
The verdict was delivered after an extensive investigation conducted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The Romanians operated out of Orlando from 2019 to 2021, targeted schools and churches in six states, and stole more than $800,000 from them combined, according to the investigation.
“Florida is a law-and-order state, and we work hard to hold criminals accountable,” Moody said. “This Romanian crime ring stole more than $800,000 by taking checks from the mailboxes of more than 250 churches and schools in six states. Many of the donor victims were seniors.”
FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said the case exemplifies how law enforcement officers followed the evidence, were involved in detailed analysis, served search warrants and worked across multiple jurisdictions and regions.
“It also demonstrates the importance we play in court, breaking down complex facts so juries can easily understand the case,” he said.
The crime ring stole checks from the mailboxes of more than 250 churches and schools in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. During a three-week trial, more than 60 pastors, reverends, ministers and priests testified about the thefts their congregations experienced. When some churches began noticing a pattern, they installed mailboxes with locks. The defendants then returned with crowbars to break into the mailboxes, they testified.
The defendants deposited the stolen checks using a network of 59 bank accounts that had been opened by various members of the crime ring using forged documents, investigators found. They then withdrew the cash from some accounts and redeposited it in others, moving more than $800,000 worth through 1,600 stolen checks.
Three Romanians were charged with multiple felonies and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Two others fled and are at large. Another previously “pled open to the court and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison,” Moody’s office said.
In another case, a supplier in a large drug trafficking ring operating out of the Boynton Beach area was arrested and charged with felony counts of trafficking cocaine and conspiracy to traffic cocaine. According to the investigation, William Moyo supplied cocaine and fentanyl for a notorious Big Boi drug trafficking ring. He is the latest arrest; authorities had already arrested 17 defendants.
“Law enforcement continues to take poison peddlers and their deadly products off our streets, and this latest arrest should serve as a warning to anyone looking to traffic drugs in our state,” Moody said.
According to the investigation, Moyo supplied multiple kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl to a drug trafficking ring run by Johnson Joseph. After executing a search warrant, authorities found more than 20 kilograms of cocaine at Moyo’s residence.
The Big Boi drug trafficking ring is known among law enforcement for distributing fentanyl and cocaine throughout the Palm Beach County area. Throughout the investigation, authorities seized a combined 50 pounds of cocaine and other illicit substances.
The investigation is ongoing. It is funded through a Florida Department of Law Enforcement State Assistance Enforcement for Fentanyl Eradication grant.
Published August 28, 2024.
