MINNEAPOLIS — For the second time in less than a week, prosecutors in Hennepin County have charged an alleged member of a Romanian crime organization for stealing from a retailer using a "quick change" scheme.
A criminal complaint filed against Suraj Tomita of Jamaica, New York charges him with theft by swindle for allegedly using "sleight of hand" tactics to steal $1,900 from the Apple Store in Edina on Aug. 1.
Edina police were called to the retailer in Southdale Center after an off-duty officer reported that he was tracking a man later identified as Tomita, who allegedly had utilized quick-change tactics to make off with nearly $2,000. Police were told that Tomita, who also uses the alias Suraj Rostas, asked a clerk to bring a MacBook laptop and Air pods and then counted out $3,600 in cash to pay for them.
Prosecutors allege Tomita handed the cash over to the clerk, took it back to recount the money and while doing so, slipped a significant amount of the money into his pocket. He then reportedly handed the pile of bills back to the clerk without that person knowing the money had been removed.
Police say the next step in the scheme involves the perpetrator returning the items at a different store location for a full refund.
Tomita was later detained and placed under arrest. Police say he was carrying $3,000 in $100 bills.
Just last week Hennepin County prosecutors charged 23-year-old Baronita Rostas with theft by swindle for using the exact same method to shortchange a retail clerk, and investigators say she also pulled the scheme off at stores in Dakota and Ramsey Counties. A criminal complaint says Rostas is suspected to be a member of a Romanian crime organization as well.
"These cases show how partnerships between law enforcement and private retail can be extremely effective in the area of organized retail crime," said Hennepin County Attorney's Office spokesman Nicholas Kimball in a released statement. "The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office is a member of the MN Organized Retail Crime Association, where big retail and law enforcement meet regularly to share information and conduct trainings on organized retail crime. The information sharing among big retail and interested law enforcement is remarkable and is critical to our ability to put these cases together."
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