( KRON ) — A San Jose man was indicted by a federal jury in connection to an international fencing operation involving stealing high-end bicycles and selling them in Mexico. Victoriano Romero was charged with conspiracy and related charges, the United States Department of Justice announced Thursday.
An unsealed indictment reveals that Romero, 53, was part of a sophisticated international operation. Bicycles were stolen from homes in San Francisco and Redwood City during daytime burglaries and then transported to Jalisco, Mexico for resale.
The indictment states that Romero owns an auto shop in San Jose where he received the stolen bicycles. He then took pictures of them, disassembled them, packaged them for delivery and then had them transported to a co-conspirator in Mexico.
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Allegedly, Romero sent pictures to his co-conspirator who then used them to advertise the bicycles for sale. Romero received a share of the profits from the scheme, the indictment alleges.