Hate crime charges filed against men who allegedly posed as ICE agents in Orange County

Two men who allegedly posed as ICE agents while targeting Latino residents in thefts across Orange County have been charged with hate crimes, prosecutors said Wednesday. 

Laurentiu Baceanu and Alexandru Vasile are accused of pretending to be U.S. immigration agents while allegedly stealing cash and debit cards from Latino residents who they believed were undocumented immigrants and feared being deported, the Orange County District Attorney said in a news release. Baceanu and Vasile allegedly wore fake law enforcement badges and spoke to the victims in Spanish, threatening them with deportation unless they handed over the cards and cash. 

Earlier this week, Anaheim police announced they were arrested and said investigators were searching for other possible victims. 

Each of the men faces 11 felony counts of second-degree robbery with 11 felony hate crime sentencing enhancements in connection with alleged crimes involving 11 different victims across the county, according to the DA's office. If convicted of all charges, prosecutors said, they could each face a maximum possible sentence of 29 years in state prison. 

Both suspects have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to appear in court in Santa Ana on July 2.

Prosecutors in Orange County allege the men — who are Romanian nationals believed to be in the U.S. illegally with alleged ties to Romanian organized crime groups — have also committed similar crimes beyond the Southern California region.

They were each charged Monday in Contra Costa County with one felony count of kidnapping to commit robbery, one felony count of first-degree ATM robbery, one felony count of second-degree robbery, one felony count of false imprisonment by violence and one felony count of grand theft of personal property, according to O.C. prosecutors, who said they will be tried in Orange County first.

Prosecutors said the men are suspected of similar crimes in Santa Clara County and possibly targeted other alleged victims in New York and Washington. 

The two men are being held without bail. 

In a news release announcing the charges, the DA's office said prosecutors read from an Anaheim police report which said one of the suspects said he "targeted Hispanic males because they have cash, they are not smart, they do not fight and they are scared due to their immigration status and would not call the police."

"The humiliation and fear these individuals inflicted on their victims because of their perceived ethnicity is nothing short of disgusting," Orange County DA Todd Spitzer said in the statement from his office.

The statement notes that Orange County law enforcement officials arrested 48 people with alleged connections to Romanian organized crime in January, a countywide operation the DA's office said was intended to "crack down on skimming operations targeting recipients of public assistance funds intended to pay for basic necessities including diapers, formula and food."

Florin Duduianu, described by prosecutors as one of Romania' most wanted, was among those arrested. He was convicted of fraudulently accessing government assistance after being indicted by a federal grand jury.

Prosecutors alleged many of the suspects arrested in the crackdown managed to enter the U.S. through illegal border crossings.

"Criminals with ties to organized Romanian crime are continuing to prey on the most vulnerable of victims here in Orange County and across the nation while using the porous southern border as a direct pipeline to enter the United States with the sole purpose of committing crimes," Spitzer said.

The charges against Baceanu and Vasile were filed in connection with the following string of alleged crimes in recent weeks, according to law enforcement:

• June 8: Baceanu and Vasile were inside a vehicle and allegedly identified themselves as police officers when prosecutors say they approached a street vendor in Tustin and asked him for his ID. They allegedly said they were looking for counterfeit bills and demanded cash, telling the man he would be deported if he didn't hand it over. They are accused of stealing $380 in cash from the man as well as his Mexican identification card.
• June 15: Allegedly posing as FBI agents on the search for someone, the suspects are accused of pulling up in an Audi to a man with his son in Tustin and asking for their identification cards. Baceanu and Vasile allegedly asked them if the money inside their wallets was real before driving off with some of the cash. Prosecutors say the victims became suspicious and did call police but the suspects had already gotten away.
• June 15: Baceanu and Vasile allegedly pretended to be ICE agents while approaching a man riding his bicycle home from work in Westminster. Prosecutors say they threatened to deport the man unless he handed over money and his ID.
• June 17: They are accused of posing as immigration agents again when they allegedly pulled up to a man in a restaurant parking lot and demanded to see his ID before stealing the man's debit card and PIN and his ID.
• June 18: A man told Westminster police money was stolen from his banking app after he handed his phone to two men who said they were ICE agents searching for a man counterfeiting money. They allegedly also stole the man's debit card and some cash.
• June 18: The suspects allegedly posed as immigration workers and asked for the immigration paperwork of a woman, who they are accused of stealing $800 in cash from. The woman later reported the incident to police, prosecutors said.
• June 20: In the parking lot of a Home Depot in Anaheim, the suspects allegedly approached three men while wearing badges around their necks and told the men they are police officers. They are accused of then demanding to see immigration paperwork before stealing cash from the alleged victims.
• June 20: They allegedly posed as ICE agents when they threatened to deport a man walking on a sidewalk in Anaheim — saying they would do so if he didn't hand over his wallet. They allegedly stole $600 in cash then drove off, throwing the wallet out the window of their SUV.

Five hours after the last alleged crime, Anaheim police arrested Baceanu and Vasile on suspicion of robbery. They tracked them down after searching for a blue Audi Q7 SUV believed to be involved in the two reported crimes in Anaheim earlier that day.