San Luis Obispo County deputies bust members of auto scam ring

May 2, 2025

By KAREN VELIE

San Luis Obispo County sheriff deputies tracked down and arrested members of an auto scam ring run by Romanian nationals.

In March, the SLO County Sheriff’s Office warned the community about scammers who pretend to be looking to buy a car. After arranging to inspect and test drive the vehicle, one of the scammers distracts the seller while another secretly pours oil on the engine.

During the test drive, the engine starts smoking, making it seem like the car has a serious problem. The scammer then offers a very low price, hoping the seller, now worried about expensive repairs, will agree to sell the car for far less than its actual value.

On April 3, detectives pulled over a vehicle with three occupants on Highway 101 near Highway 166. The three occupants – 37-year-old Alexandru Florea, a 17-year-old male, and an 11-year-old male – had been spotted earlier at a home in Arroyo Grande attempting to buy a car.

Inside the vehicle, detectives found a nearly empty bottle of engine oil as well as a gallon jug that was partially full of engine oil.

Deputies arrested Florea on charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, tampering with a vehicle and obtaining money by false pretenses. The 17-year-old was transported to SLO County Juvenile Hall. And the 11-year-old was turned over to Child Welfare Services.

“The SLO County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the public for their help on this case,” according to a press release. “When we originally issued a press release on this scam on March 19, we asked if any others who may have been victims, to contact us. Detectives received more than 20 phone calls from the public with information which helped in this investigation.”