The Romanian man stole under the pretext of collecting donations, and the prosecution has charged him with two criminal offences.
According to the indictment, on May 1, 2025, at noon, the perpetrator was in a cemetery. He noticed an elderly couple and approached them claiming to collect donations. The 90-year-old man handed the defendant 5,000 forints, and his wife signed the donation sheet. Later, the perpetrator followed the couple and asked for more money. When they returned to their car and the victim opened the back door, the defendant stepped behind him, grabbed him tightly from behind, and attempted to take the wallet from his vest. The victim tried to push the perpetrator away, who continued his attempt. As a means of defense, the elderly man slapped the defendant, but this did not deter him; he suddenly reached into the victim’s pocket, stole his wallet containing 400,000 forints, and then fled in his car.
On May 22, 2025, in the afternoon, the perpetrator stopped a customer in the underground garage of a shopping mall in Debrecen and again asked for money under the pretext of collecting donations. The victim gave him 1,000 forints, but the defendant said it was not enough, so the man handed over another 1,000. While having the victim sign the donation sheet, the perpetrator noticed that there was more money in the wallet. Taking advantage of the moment, he secretly removed and stole 123,000 forints from it.
The victims’ losses were recovered during the investigation by police in Hajdúböszörmény, as officers seized the stolen money from the perpetrator and returned it to the rightful owners.
The Hajdúböszörmény District Prosecutor’s Office filed charges against the man — who confessed to the offences — for the crime of robbery (kifosztás) and for theft of lesser value committed as pickpocketing. The prosecutor proposed a suspended prison sentence to be imposed through a criminal order.
Based on the case files, the Hajdúböszörmény District Court issued a criminal order sentencing the defendant to 1 year and 6 months in prison, suspended for a 3-year probationary period. The prosecution accepted the decision; the defendant’s statement is still pending.
