The suspects, all Romanian citizens, are accused of stealing donation checks from church mailboxes, hitting as many as 85 churches a day. A variety of aliases were used to deposit stolen checks into numerous bank accounts as well as sending high-value wire transfers to Romania. “We’re more concerned for the peril of the thieves, at this point.”

LEE CO., Fla. — It’s been dubbed as operation ‘Thou Shalt Not Steal.’

It’s what law enforcement is calling their year-long investigation into thefts at churches, including some here in Southwest Florida. More than 1,500 donation checks were stolen from 636 churches- 355 of which were in Florida. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation began in December 2020 after Cape Coral Police identified 24 victim churches within Lee County, plus additional victims outside their jurisdiction.

Agents with the FDLE have arrested four suspects accused of traveling throughout Florida- and across the country- stealing donations from hundreds of churches and parochial schools.

“These individuals who, until very recently, were stealing money from churches across the country,” said Shane Pollard, Special Agent with Fort Myers FDLE. ”It was almost the perfect crime as Covid-19 swept the country. Some church members stayed home from in-person church services and mailed in their offerings. This theft ring took full advantage of this situation, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in church donations out of church mailboxes.”

The suspects, all Romanian citizens, are accused of stealing donation checks from church mailboxes, hitting as many as 85 churches a day. A variety of aliases were used to deposit stolen checks into numerous bank accounts as well as sending high-value wire transfers to Romania.

“We’re more concerned for the peril of the thieves, at this point.”

“It isn’t simply stealing from churches, it’s stealing from our communities as well,” he says. “It’s bigger than just how is our church a victim, our community is a victim of this brazen act of thievery.”

Lauder says the donation money helps the church fund services for the community. But his main concern isn’t about the money.

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