Indictment Reached In Manchester-Involved 'Distraction Theft Scheme'

MANCHESTER, CT — Two Peruvian nationals have been charged in connection with what federal officials are calling a "distraction theft scheme" that involved an investigation by Manchester police and other agencies.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut and Robert Fuller, special agent in charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said that a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment Tuesday charging the pair with with credit card fraud and identity theft offenses. They have ben identified as 34-year-old Angel Giancarlo Bellido Cosio, also known as Jesus Requejo, 34, a citizen of Peru last residing in Patterson, NJ; and Angel Eugeno Bances Chaponan, a 60-year-old citizen of Peru who was residing in Queens, NY.

According to case records, the FBI and Manchester police had been investigating a series of distraction thefts of wallets from victims at Trader Joe's grocery stores and other retail stores. The investigation revealed that Bellido Cosio and Bances Chaponan rented vehicles using a fraudulent passport, traveled throughout the U.S., stole wallets from unwary victims at Trader Joe's and other stores, and then used the ripped off credit and debit cards to purchase electronic devices and other items, Avery said.

Bellido Cosio and Bances Chaponan were arrested on March 13, and are currently detained.

The indictment charges Bellido Cosio and Bances Chaponan with access device fraud, an offense that carries a maximum prison term of 10 years, and with aggravated identity theft, an offense that carries a mandatory consecutive prison term of two years.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI, the Manchester Police Department, the Fairfax County (VA) Police Department, the Spartanburg County (SC) Sherriff's Office, and the Spartanburg Police Department.