A Romanian citizen who spent more than a year evading federal authorities has been captured in Washington state and will be transported back to Georgia to stand trial for his alleged role in an extensive agricultural machinery scam.
Federal law enforcement officials confirmed that 27-year-old Bogdan Alexandru Gherghevici was taken into custody in the vicinity of Seattle on September 4, 2026. Following his apprehension, Western District of Washington Magistrate Judge Brian A. Tsuchida issued an order directing the fugitive’s extradition back to the Southern District of Georgia, where formal criminal charges have been pending against him.
Gherghevici was originally named in a 16-count federal indictment returned by a grand jury in August 2025. The indictment includes serious federal offenses, specifically multiple counts of wire fraud alongside aggravated identity theft, stemming from an organized scheme that targeted agricultural buyers across the country.
According to prosecutors, the deceptive operation was active between March and May 2025. During that brief window, Gherghevici and a co-defendant allegedly ran a fraudulent operation centered on marketing non-existent agricultural machinery, ultimately defrauding more than a dozen potential customers and generating losses that surpassed $600,000.
Court documents indicate that the perpetrators specifically preyed on prospective purchasers, many of whom were elderly. The conspirators employed deceptive sales pitches and false representations to convince buyers that legitimate heavy farm equipment was available for purchase at competitive terms.
As part of the illicit operation, victims were instructed to transfer their payments via wire transfer into specific bank accounts that were covertly maintained and controlled by the defendants. The buyers were assured that their purchased farming equipment would be transported and delivered to them within a matter of days or weeks.
However, the promised machinery never arrived. Once the victims wired the requested funds into the designated accounts, the conspirators severed all forms of communication, leaving the victims with substantial monetary losses and no equipment.
The law enforcement investigation originally gained traction in May 2025 after an alert customer notified authorities about suspicious transactions involving a purported agricultural equipment dealership claiming to operate out of Blackshear, Georgia.
Following up on that initial report, investigators from the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office partnered with special agents from Homeland Security Investigations. Their joint inquiry quickly determined that the business entity in question was entirely fabricated, eventually allowing investigators to identify both Gherghevici and his associate as the individuals orchestrating the fraudulent enterprise.
Pierce County Sheriff Ramsey Bennett praised the multi-agency coordination that exposed the operation, stating that local authorities deeply appreciate the critical assistance provided by federal partners. Bennett noted that it is gratifying to see deceptive individuals prosecuted for taking advantage of hard-working Americans.
While Gherghevici fled and managed to remain at large for over a year, his co-conspirator was apprehended much sooner. That co-defendant, 33-year-old Viorel Cristea, entered a guilty plea to a single count of wire fraud and was sentenced in March 2026 by Chief Judge R. Stan Baker of the U.S. District Court.
Judge Baker ordered Cristea to serve a term of 21 months in federal prison and mandated the payment of $679,100 in restitution to compensate the victims. Cristea is also slated to undergo deportation proceedings once his custodial sentence has been fulfilled.
Homeland Security Investigations emphasized that fleeing from criminal charges only delays justice rather than preventing it. Steven N. Schrank, the special agent in charge of HSI operations across Georgia and Alabama, explained that attempting to evade prosecution does not diminish the severe harm inflicted on victims or deter federal agents from tracking down suspects.
Schrank underscored the broader consequences that such deceptive practices inflict on the agricultural sector, pointing out that when agricultural workers are targeted, the financial fallout threatens not only individual livelihoods but also the families and rural communities that depend on them. He reaffirmed HSI’s ongoing mission to shield vulnerable citizens from con artists who exploit trust.
Margaret E. "Meg" Heap, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, similarly commended the nationwide collaboration among law enforcement agencies that brought Gherghevici into custody. Heap noted that agricultural producers in Georgia and throughout the country already shoulder massive everyday challenges to supply the nation with essential food and fiber, adding that being swindled by unscrupulous criminals should not be an added hardship.
With the extradition order approved, Gherghevici will now be transported to Georgia, where Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Bondura, Olivia Brame, and L. Alexander Hamner are designated to lead the government's prosecution against him.
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