ERO Miami arrests fake violinist
MIAMI — Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Miami, in partnership with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, arrested Giovanni Radu, a 22-year-old citizen of Italy who entered the United States as a nonimmigrant and violated the terms of his admission. ERO Miami detained Radu in Royal Palm Harbor.
“This individual flouted the limits of his immigration status, and our officers have done an outstanding job of imposing the consequences of his choices,” ERO Miami Field Operations Director Garrett Ripa, “The U.S. will not be a haven for those who take advantage of the immigration system.”
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office first encountered and arrested Radu after receiving complaints of aggressive panhandling and fraud related to misrepresentation during a solicitation of charity. Specifically, Radu allegedly possessed a sign in a public area stating that his children needed food while pretending to play a violin. He played prerecorded music in the background to trick passersby into believing he could play the violin and collect charitable donations.
According to his arrest report, Radu collected a total of $80,000 in the past year using a fake nonprofit.
Radu is facing state charges, including organized scheme to defraud, failure to register as a charitable organization, failure to disclose information for charity, misrepresentation for solicitation of charity, soliciting charitable donation under false pretenses, providing false name to law enforcement, carrying a concealed weapon during a felony, and battery on a law enforcement officer.
ERO, a directorate of ICE, upholds U.S. immigration law at, within, and beyond our borders. ERO operations target public safety threats, such as convicted criminal noncitizens and gang members, who have violated our nation’s immigration laws, including those who illegally re-enter the country after being removed and immigration fugitives ordered removed by federal immigration judges. ERO deportation officers assigned to Interpol also assist in targeting foreign fugitives for crimes committed abroad at-large in the U.S. ERO manages all aspects of the immigration enforcement process, including identification and arrest, detention, bond management, supervised release, transportation, and removal. Additionally, ERO repatriates noncitizens ordered removed from the U.S. to more than 150 countries worldwide.
For more news and information on how the ERO Miami field office carries out its immigration enforcement mission, follow us on Twitter @EROMiami.
