PORTLAND, Ore. — A Romanian national who was unlawfully residing in the United States has been sentenced to federal prison for her role in a scheme that targeted elderly victims, stealing their bank cards and withdrawing money from their accounts.
Rexona Caldararu, 34, was sentenced Wednesday to 36 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release, federal prosecutors announced.
According to court documents, Caldararu and her co-conspirators carried out the fraud scheme from the summer of 2023 through the summer of 2025. The group specifically targeted elderly individuals at grocery stores, where they observed victims entering their debit card personal identification numbers (PINs) during checkout.
After memorizing the PINs, Caldararu or another member of the conspiracy would follow victims to the parking lot. There, they would approach the victims and claim they had dropped cash. While pretending to help place the money back into the victim’s wallet, the suspects secretly removed the victim’s debit card.
Armed with both the stolen card and the victim’s PIN, the conspirators then traveled to the victim’s bank and withdrew as much money as possible. In some cases, they also used the stolen cards to make purchases.
Federal authorities said Caldararu defrauded 12 victims in Oregon and other locations, stealing more than $73,500. Investigators also noted that she had previously been arrested for similar criminal conduct across the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom and France.
A federal grand jury in Portland returned a 12-count superseding indictment on Oct. 7, 2025, charging Caldararu and her co-conspirators with multiple offenses. On Jan. 22, 2026, Caldararu pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford announced the sentence. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine A. Rykken prosecuted the case.
Federal officials urged the public, particularly older adults, to remain vigilant when using debit cards in public and to shield PIN entries from view whenever possible.
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