ORLANDO, Fla.,None — A man was part of a stolen printer cartridge operation and stole $40,000 worth of inkjet cartridges from dozens of Target stores in Florida, said Orlando investigators.
Investigators saidChristian Dunca is not a U.S. citizen and immigration officials are now involved.
Dunca is accused of buying up thousands of cartridges as part of a scam that netted him almost $1 million.
The key to Dunca's success wasn't a key but a cartridge.
"[He would] go into a Target store, make a large purchase of Epson ink cartridges," said Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent David Lee.
Lee said Dunca would slice open the boxes and "replace them with a generic cartridge he'd purchased online."
Investigators said Dunca is from Romania. He lived in Georgia but Dunca would travel around seven states and return the cheap cartridges to Target stores, getting stacks of cash each time.
For two years, Dunca beat the system.
Surveillance video captured Dunca as he walked to his car, picked up a bag of cartridges ready to return and headed back into the store.
"He usually went back to the same stores he bought the cartridges at," Lee said.
Dunca's ink ran out in Kissimmee when Target team members caught on.
"[The store] began to get complaints from customers.
Dunca was arrested in New York in August after a three-month FDLE and Target investigation.
On EBay, Dunca was a super-seller with a 99.5 percent positive feedback.
He'd buy $50 cartridges at Target, replace them with cartridges from China that he'd order online for $1 a piece and sell the real ones on EBay for about $27.
"When we pulled the EBay account, he had over $900,000 in sales," said Lee.
Dunca had some help, and investigators said that others are cooperating.
"It's always money. It's an easy way to make a living," said Lee.
If convicted on 16 theft and 1 fraud charge, investigators said Dunca could get 5 years in prison and will be likely sent back to Romania.
WFTV
