ST. CHARLES COUNTY 鈥 A Romanian man suspected of masterminding an elaborate check-stealing scheme targeting churches in St. Charles County and Illinois is facing state and federal charges.
A federal grand jury last week indicted Lourdes M. Anton, 20, on two counts of conspiracy to commit mail theft. He is also facing two counts of stealing in St. Charles County. He is suspected of stealing at least 28 checks from six church mailboxes.
The investigation into Anton, who is a Romanian national living on an expired visa in Hollywood, Florida, and an unidentified male juvenile began earlier this month when a Dardenne Presbyterian Church employee spotted the two in the church鈥檚 parking lot late at night. The employee approached and discovered them using what investigators describe as a 鈥渟pecialized tool鈥 鈥 a wooden rod with double-sided sticky tape wrapped around one end to retrieve envelopes containing checks from the church鈥檚 dropbox, according to court records.
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When Anton and the juvenile saw the employee approaching, they fled in a van. The employee told police they found multiple envelopes in and around the mailbox.
Video from the church鈥檚 security system showed Anton and the teen carrying several envelopes to the van, investigators said.
The next day, O鈥橣allon, Missouri, police found the van parked at a coffee shop. When questioned, Anton allowed police to search the vehicle, where they found the wooden rod as well as a receipt for a FedEx package that Anton had shipped earlier that morning, Oct. 4, court records said.
Police say Anton admitted to stealing checks from Dardenne Presbyterian Church and an unnamed church in St. Peters. Dardenne Presbyterian Church did not respond to interview requests.
Anton told investigators he was stealing the checks and mailing them to his home address in Florida, according to court records. U.S. Postal Inspectors intercepted the FedEx package Anton had shipped and recovered eight checks written to the Dardenne Presbyterian Church, totaling $2,358. Court records do not list any checks recovered from the St. Peters or Illinois churches.
A U.S. Postal inspector said that Anton said this was not the first time that he had stolen checks from churches, and he didn鈥檛 always cash the checks, court documents state. It is unclear if the juvenile with Anton has been charged.
Anton, who also has a juvenile criminal history in California and Texas, faces a 5-year prison sentence for the federal charges. Anton is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 21 in federal court, according to online court records. A hearing has also been scheduled for Oct. 25 in St. Charles County.
Anton, who posted bond in the St. Charles County case, should be considered a flight risk, according to court documents filed in federal court.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is 鈥渃urrently working to place a detainer鈥 on Anton, according to federal officials.