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Eglisa Ciuciu, 25, of Baltimore, MD, and Sandrino Trifu, 32, of Croaova, Romania were arrested along with an unnamed 15-year-old in connection to a bizarre baby formula theft at the Gettysburg Walmart on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.
Ciuciu used the 15-year-old to transport the stolen goods from the store that she supposedly needed “to send to her family members in Ukraine and Romania,” according to an affidavit of probable cause filed by Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Brock McCulloch.
In sum, five transactions were made valued at approximately $890, according to the affidavit. Although, Walmart staff also told the police that they “were able to verify that the same female had purchased additional containers of baby formula at another Walmart earlier in the day,” according to the affidavit.
Ciuciu would not identify herself to the police but her fingerprints helped PSP determine that the was wanted on a warrant for burglary in California, according to the court documents. Daily Voice has confirmed that Ciuciu is wanted for a 2017 Glendale burglary according to Los Angeles County court.
Ciuciu was charged with forgery, buying/exchanging SNAP benefits, fraudulent trafficking related to SNAP benefits, tampering with records, false identification to law enforcement, and corruption of minors and released on $25,000 in bail, according to her court docket.
Trifu was not with Ciuciu at the time of her arrest, but when Ciuciu had her "cousin" arrive at the station for her ride home, he provided a fake Washington ID card, police explain.
He told police Ciuciu was his girlfriend or wife and could not verify his own or Ciuciu's address. He was soon fingerprinted and despite denying that he had ever been arrested state police discovered "a lengthy criminal history consisting of fraud, and forgery,” according to the affidavit.
Trifu was charged with forgery and false identification to a law enforcement officer and was also held on $25,000 in bail, according to his court docket.
The duos' back-to-back preliminary hearings were recently continued and reset before the honorable Judge Matthew Robert Havery on March 22. This change comes as the US Department of Justice announced that Trifu is illegally in the US and had previously been deported.
Trifu was indicted by a federal grand jury with "illegal reentry into the United States by a previously removed alien," according to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam.
"The indictment alleges that Trifu was previously removed from the United States on July 10, 2019, through Chicago, Illinois, and it is alleged that he reentered the United States without first obtaining legal permission to do so. The indictment also alleges that on February 6, 2023, Trifu was encountered in Adams County, Pennsylvania," the USDOJ states in the release.
If he is convicted he will face a maximum penalty of 20 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
This case is now being investigated by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement.
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