Sentence Rendered In 'Distraction Theft' Case With Manchester Ties

MANCHESTER, CT — A Peruvian national that prosecutors said was involved in a "distraction theft" and identity theft scheme with ties to Manchester has been sentenced to two tears in federal prison.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, said that Angel Eugenio Bances Choaonan, a citizen of Peru last residing in Queens, NY, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 24 months in prison for his participation in the scheme.

Manchester police were part of the investigation.

According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI and local law enforcement agencies in Connecticut and elsewhere have been investigating a series of distraction thefts of wallets from victims, typically elderly women, at Trader Joe’s grocery stores, TJ Maxx stores, and other retail stores in Connecticut and elsewhere since March 2022.

The investigation revealed that Bances Chaponan and others rented vehicles to travel throughout the U.S. in order to steal wallets from unwary victims, and then use the victims' credit and debit cards to purchase electronic devices and other items, Avery said. Bances Chaponan and his co-conspirators would stop at shipping providers along their route to ship the goods they purchased to a co-conspirator's address in New Jersey, Avery said.

Court documents detail Bances Chaponan’s role in the theft from 10 victims in Connecticut, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Tennessee, and the purchase of more than $46,000 in goods using the victims’ credit or debit cards.

Bances Chaponan was arrested on March 13, shortly after he used a stolen credit card to purchase a MacBook for approximately $2,850 and an iPad Pro for approximately $1,050. On June 20, he entered a guilty plea to aggravated identity theft.

Bances Chaponan, who has been detained since his arrest, faces immigration proceedings when he completes his prison term, Avery said.

This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Manchester Police Department, with the assistance of the Fairfax County (Va.) Police Department, the Spartanburg County (S.C.) Sheriff’s Office, the Spartanburg Police Department, the Warwick (R.I.) Police Department, and the Metropolitan Nashville (Tenn.) Police Department.