Man Stole Credit Cards From YMCA, Made $11K Fraudulent Purchase: Darien Police

DARIEN, CT — A 30-year-old man was arrested on June 2 after Darien Police say he stole credit cards and cash and made a fraudulent purchase for a little over $11,000 at a local department store.

Alende Olteanu, of Woodside, N.Y., was charged with two counts of illegally taking a payment card and sixth-degree larceny.

The CT Judicial Branch website notes that Olteanu also faces several conspiracy charges in Greenwich related to first-degree larceny, criminal impersonation, identity theft, and payment card theft.

Citing an arrest warrant, Greenwich Time reported that law enforcement agencies in the region determined the fraudulent purchase of jewelry in Greenwich matched the pattern of "a transnational organized crime ring out of Romania," which utilizes stolen credit cards from gyms and fitness centers.

The arrest warrant noted that Olteanu used a fake North Dakota ID to gain day passes at YMCA centers, Greenwich Time said.

On March 7, Darien officers responded to a larceny complaint at the Darien YMCA, where someone reported the theft of $500 in cash and two credit cards from his locker, police said.

The stolen credit cards were later used for a fraudulent purchase totaling $11,206 at Saks Fifth Avenue in Greenwich, police said.

"Surveillance footage and investigative efforts identified Alende Olteanu," Darien Police said in an arrest log. "He was linked to similar crimes across multiple states."

Olteanu was originally arrested in New Jersey and extradited to Connecticut, where he was arraigned at Stamford Superior Court and processed for the Darien charges, police said. He was given a court-set bond of $50,000.

Olteanu is scheduled to appear in Stamford Superior Court on June 16.

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