BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A Peruvian citizen was sentenced to two years in prison Tuesday in Bridgeport for participating in a distraction theft and identity theft scheme, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Angel Eugenio Bances Chaponan, 60, is a Peruvian national who last resided in Queens, N.Y. Prosecutors said that he used stolen credit and debit cards to purchase $46,000 of electronics and other items.
Court documents and statements made in court note that the FBI and local Connecticut law enforcement agencies, as well as those in other states, have been investigating a string of distraction thefts of wallets from victims, who are typically elderly women, at Trader Joe’s grocery stores, TJ Maxx stores and other retail stores. The thefts have been occurring both in and outside of Connecticut since March 2022.
Investigators found that Bances Chaponan and others rented vehicles to travel throughout the United States to steal wallets from different victims and use the victims’ credit and debit cards to buy electronic devices and other items.
Prosecutors said Bances Chaponan and his co-conspirators would stop at shipping providers along their route to send out the goods they purchased to a co-conspirator’s New Jersey address.
According to court documents, Bances Chaponan played a role in stealing from 10 victims in Connecticut, Rhode Island, North Carolina and Tennessee as well as the purchase of over $46,000 in items using the victims’ credit or debit cards.
Bances Chaponan was arrested on March 13 not long after using a stolen credit card to purchase a MacBook for around $2,850 and an iPad Pro for approximately $1,050. He pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft on June 20, prosecutors say.
He has been detained since his arrest and faces immigration proceedings when he completes his prison term.
In addition to the FBI, the investigation was conducted by the Manchester Police Department with help from the Fairfax County, Va. Police Department, the Spartanburg County, S.C. Sheriff’s Office, the Spartanburg Police Department, the Warwick, R.I. Police Department and the Metropolitan Nashville, Tenn. Police Department.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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