The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested a female member of the Romanian Theft Group accused of targeting Americans with coordinated retail thefts and fraudulent scams purporting to help sick children, Breitbart News has exclusively learned.
Clara Badanac, a 55-year-old illegal alien from Romania, was arrested by ICE agents in Wrentham, Massachusetts. Sources told Breitbart News that Badanac is a member of the Romanian Theft Group, an organized crime syndicate known for scamming Americans out of money.
Badanac remains in ICE custody pending deportation from the United States.
In addition to Badanac’s arrest, ICE officials also announced a string of arrests across the sanctuary state of Massachusetts of illegal alien Romanian women — all involved in organized burglaries and thefts targeting Americans.
On July 29, ICE agents arrested three of the illegal aliens in Dedham, Massachusetts:
- Mihaela Ion, an illegal alien whose criminal record includes conspiracy to commit breaking and entering
- Mirabela Caldararu, an illegal alien whose criminal record includes conspiracy to commit breaking and entering
- Flavia Gabriela Caldararu, an illegal alien whose criminal record includes conspiracy to commit breaking and entering and failure to stop for police
Likewise, ICE agents lodged detainers against another three illegal aliens involved in the burglary schemes:
- Jajela Chiciu, an illegal alien whose criminal record includes multiple thefts and charged with conspiracy, with four known offenses involving stolen property under $1,500
- Emilia Sardaru, an illegal alien whose criminal record includes conspiracy charges
- Elizabeth Sardaru, an illegal alien whose criminal record includes first-degree burglary, conspiracy, receiving known stolen property, burglary, and grand theft across multiple jurisdictions
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
The six Romanian illegal aliens are facing charges that include breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, conspiracy, possession of burglarious instruments, and resisting arrest. Some of the women had warrants out for their arrests in other states.
“This burglary ring will no longer be able to victimize American citizens,” the Department of Homeland Security’s Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “These criminal illegal aliens should never have been allowed to walk free on Massachusetts streets to steal from Americans — and under President Trump and Secretary Noem, they won’t.”
In May, President Donald Trump removed Romania from the federal government’s Visa Waiver Program (VWP) over national security concerns. The VWP is a coveted benefit that allows foreign nationals from designated countries to bypass having to obtain a visa to secure entry to the U.S., and allows them to stay in the country for up to 90 days visa-free.
Countries eligible for the VWP must meet particular criteria, including having a visa overstay rate that is less than three percent. Romania, in 2024, had an overstay rate of 2.61 percent, but in 2023, its overstay rate was nearly nine percent, nearly 13 percent in 2022, and more than 17 percent in 2021.
As Breitbart News has chronicled, the VWP has been used by foreign burglary gangs to gain visa-free admission to the U.S. so they can burglarize wealthy Americans.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter here.
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