Crime
Massachusetts police make arrests after uptick in traveling panhandlers and selling of fake merchandise across the state
Officials say that over the past several weeks, communities around the state have seen an increase in traveling panhandlers as well as individuals approaching people and aggressively trying to sell them jewelry.
A family allegedly doing just that was arrested on Saturday.
According to Barnstable Police, on Saturday, an incident led to officers encountering 34-year-old Aron Miclescu and 29-year-old Cornelia Constantin of Seattle Washington, along with their juvenile son. This encounter was the result of an investigation from incidents involving Miclescu and his family traveling around Barnstable and selling what appears to be fake gold jewelry.
Based on the investigation, Miclescu and Constantin were arrested, and Barnstable Patrol Officers and Detectives executed a search warrant on their vehicle, which resulted in the seizure of a large amount of jewelry and over $6,000 in cash.
Photos courtesy of Barnstable Police
Constantin was charged with disorderly conduct and was released on $5,000 cash bail. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Barnstable District Court on Monday.
Miclescu was charged with operating without a license, disorderly conduct, and selling counterfeit goods. He was held on $50,000 bail and is also scheduled to be arraigned in Barnstable District Court on Monday.
The Barnstable Police Department urges the community to stay vigilant in reporting suspicious activity and incidents such as these.
Ashlee
June 26, 2022 at 11:47 pm
This same couple scammed me as well in the city of new bedford MA. i still have the fake rings and chain. The man would ride around in a van with his wife and about 3 other young children and tell a story on how they needed to sell there jewelry for cash to get back hom to there country with there kids. I soon noticed the gold was fake as it began irritating my skin. About a few weeks after they convinced me into purchasing the fake gold me and my partner ran into them in the same city and tried to confront the man and his wife and they were trying to hit my vehicle just to get away. Very glad they were caught !
Jake Perry
June 27, 2022 at 10:27 am
Hey Ashlee, are you a blond?
😂😂😂
June 27, 2022 at 4:17 am
You deserve to be scammed if you’re stupid enough to buy jewelry from a car…..
Barbara A Jones
June 27, 2022 at 4:00 pm
I think I saw them in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Plymouth.
David Earle
June 28, 2022 at 8:44 am
That’s funny. They were panhandling, yet she could afford to put up a $5,000 cash bail? There was a time in my life that I wasn’t doing so well; not working, no food or money, and yet I went out of my way to NOT panhandle, because my Mom taught me this kind of behavior, imposing on people that way, was not right and should be avoided.
Paul Revere
July 18, 2022 at 10:06 pm
It’s very important to know these Romanian Gypsies are in the US illegally. These groups are also know to be part of a larger transnational organized crime group… but they won’t mention that. Or that these gypsies are plaguing the rest of the U.S. after they are allowed to just walk through the southern border from Mexico. Thanks Bidan.