Romanian Man Accused of Sleight-of-Hand Crimes in Missouri, Other States

ST. LOUIS – A Romanian national has been accused of running a “confidence” or “sleight-of-hand” scheme at Target stores around the country.

Bobi Covaciu, 38, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on April 16, 2025. He was arrested in the Southern District of Texas two days later. On Thursday, after being brought to St. Louis, he appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The indictment accuses Covaciu of using the scheme at Target stores across the country from September 2023 to September 2024, including in eastern Missouri. Covaciu tricked cashiers into believing that he had paid the full amount of cash for a purchase, but pocketed bills and shortchanged the retailer, oftentimes by hundreds of dollars or more per transaction, the indictment says. On numerous occasions, Covaciu returned the merchandise for a full cash refund, the indictment says.

In one transaction referenced in the indictment, Covaciu pocketed $2,300 of the $2,865 transaction.

A motion seeking to have Covaciu detained in jail until trial says he victimized stores in more than a dozen states.

Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.

A charge set forth in an indictment is merely an accusation and does not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case.