ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) -An undocumented Romanian immigrant was sentenced to 21 months in prison Monday for committing fraud of nearly $200,000 in 22 states.
Prosecutors state that Bobi Covaciu, 39, tricked store cashiers in at least 22 states into believing he had paid the full amount in cash for purchases.
Covaciu would count the cash for the purchases, hand it to the cashier, but secretly pocket the bills.
This resulted in Covaciu shortchanging retailers by hundreds of dollars or more per transaction.
Afterwards, Covaciu would return the items he purchased to a different store for a full cash refund.
There were at least 90 fraudulent transactions between February 2022 to September 2024. Covaciu stole approximately $196,220 in property and cash.
After completing his sentence, Covaciu will be deported.
Covaciu’s criminal history shows that he was involved in a separate fraud scheme in December 2016 before entering the United States undocumented.
Covaciu pleaded guilty in December to one count of wire fraud.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case
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