2 Men Arrested For Stealing $50K From 71-Year-Old Woman, Deputies Say

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Two men were charged with using a "distraction scheme" to steal over $50,000 from two Orange County seniors, the Orange County Sheriff's Department reported.

Stefan Romero Oprea, 38, and Ionut Marius Andrei, 42, pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Thursday to single counts each of burglary, taking property from another and grand theft as well as two counts of theft from an elder adult in excess of $950, all felonies.

The two men are scheduled to next appear in court Oct. 9 for a pretrial hearing at the West Justice Center in Westminster.

The defendants are charged with stealing $50,000 from a 79-year-old Huntington Beach woman and $5,000 from an elderly man in Lake Forest.

According to authorities, the 79-year-old victim — who was not identified by name — drove to a bank in Huntington Beach at 11 a.m. Sept. 19, where she withdrew $50,000 and put the money in an envelope before going home.

At about noon, the woman was approached by a suspect at her home. He asked for directions to a local hospital, authorities said.

While she was distracted, the other suspect reached into her car and stole the envelope of cash, authorities said.

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the defendants were also linked to a second theft from a 72-year-old man in Lake Forest on Aug. 16.

The victim similarly withdrew $5,000 from a bank and went home, where a suspect approached him and asked for directions to the hospital. When the man went back to this car, he saw that his money was gone, authorities said.

Deputies call this type of crime "bank jugging," which involves thieves who follow customers of bank or check cashing stores who withdraw cash, then follow the victim and distract them long enough to grab their money.

Investigators' advice the public is to pay attention to surroundings and limit distractions such as cell phones when handling large amounts of cash. Anyone who feels they are being followed should call 911.