DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — Delray Beach officials say they’ve caught and cuffed a thief accused of targeting the elderly.
Thirty-two-year-old Romanian national Romica Aciocanasei is accused of pretending to find dropped cash before using sleight of hand to swipe debit cards.
Newly released surveillance footage reveals the moments he targeted a woman walking out of a Whole Foods store, all the while using a fake identity.
Without her even noticing, police say Aciocanasei had already stolen the unsuspecting victim’s debit card.
“The suspect says, ‘Hey, you dropped a 20,’ waves a 20 in front of her, and tells her to put it in her wallet,” said Delray Beach Police Detective Gio Milicchio. “As she opens up her wallet, you could actually see him put his hand over her wallet and remove her debit card.”
Detective Milicchio says this was not an isolated incident; Romica is tied to a statewide crime ring targeting older adults from Palm Beach to Pinellas County and even Texas. The case is now part of a larger statewide investigation involving multiple agencies. They call it a distraction scam.
“Usually they would target big box grocery stores,” said Milicchio. “They would stand behind the victim in line. As the victim was punching their PIN number into the little terminal, they would watch them punch their PIN number in.”
Once they have access to a PIN, they’ll then approach their victim, claiming you dropped cash, all to get into a wallet or purse.
“He was definitely working with at least five to six other people doing the same MO, dressing the same,” said Milicchio. “They all had thick beards. They all tried to look alike so they could throw people off.”
Romaci was shown on surveillance using stolen debit cards just minutes after the theft, sometimes withdrawing thousands of dollars in cash at multiple locations. He was finally caught in January outside the Whole Foods after he and a woman were seen approaching multiple shoppers. Although the woman ran, police caught and detained Aciocanasei.
“We were never able to get anything on him, just a surveillance video. Since they were foreigners, nobody was ever able to locally ID them until we got them in January,” said Milicchio.
According to police, Aciocanasei also has a criminal history in Europe and may be tied to a larger Romanian theft ring operating in the United States.
Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.