Police arrest one suspected jewelry scammer, looking for another

Winnipeg police have arrested one man and are searching for a second believed to be tied to a travelling group of fraudsters who use fake jewelry and distractions to scam victims.

Winnipeg Police Service major crimes investigators are on the lookout for Ionut-Vasile Bivolaru, 31, for his alleged role in a distraction scam earlier this month, police said Wednesday.

A 29-year-old man who was walking his dog on Toronto Street in the West End in the afternoon of Aug. 1 called police after he had jewelry stolen from him by a man, believed to be Bivolaru.

The victim was approached by the suspect, who was carrying costume jewelry and an item he offered as a gift, a common ruse used by the travelling fraudsters.

The suspect distracted the 29-year-old and managed to remove a valuable, genuine gold chain from his neck and replace it with a phony necklace, police said.

The victim realized what was happening and confronted the suspect, but the fraudster drove off.

Police have asked anyone who knows where Bivolaru may be or who might have interacted with him to call investigators at 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 204-786-8477 (TIPS).

In the second case, police said a man who was parked on the 1400 block of Regent Avenue West in the afternoon on June 26 was approached by a man selling gold jewelry.

The suspect had a child with him and claimed to the victim they needed money to travel, which police say is another ruse used by such fraudsters.

The man bought jewelry from the man that he believed to be gold, but upon learning it wasn’t genuine, called police.

Major crimes investigators identified Catalin Feraru, 36, as the suspect. He was arrested in Portage la Prairie on Monday. He’s been charged with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and fraud over $5,000. He’s been held in custody.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca