PENDER COUNTY, NC – The Pender County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) and North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) have identified a large-scale Moldovan and Russian money laundering scheme. The PCSO and the SBI arrested Valentin Virlizanu of Raleigh on Sunday with the assistance of the Raleigh Police Department.
An arrest warrant has also been issued for his brother, Vasile Virlizanu. The SBI is requesting the public’s help in locating Vasile.
Both men are facing multiple felony charges, including: conspiracy, money Laundering, obtaining property by false pretenses, and use of a government computer to defraud.
Valentin Virlizanu was booked into the Pender County Detention Center and has been released on a $25,000 bond.
This scheme is believed to have operated under at least two different company names: Specialty Vehicles of Tulsa and Bonucci Auto of Arizona. The two men allegedly sold antique cars online, taking payments from victims but failing to deliver the vehicles. The SBI has identified up to $3 million in stolen funds…