Operation Thou Shalt Not Steal nets church theft suspects
BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida-based group of Romanian nationals stole $740,000 from hundreds of churches by taking donation checks from their mailboxes and cashing them, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Wednesday.
Four people were arrested and two others are wanted in what authorities are calling “Operation Thou Shalt Not Steal.”
The group was based in Orlando but traveled throughout Florida and other states stealing checks, investigators said. In all, authorities identified 636 churches that were victims, including 355 in Florida.
“This low-tech yet well-organized effort to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of mailed-in charitable donations — at a time when donations may have been most needed — has been stopped," FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said in a news release.