Police from Mount Prospect responded about 3:33 p.m. Tuesday, August 26, 2025 to screaming in a parking lot at the Mount Prospect Plaza parking lot and discovered that an attempted robbery of an 83 year-old make victim occurred.
On Wednesday, August 27, 2025, Mount Prospect Police Detectives charged Bianca Miclescu, 21-years old, of 2226 Eastlake Avenue, Seattle, Washington, and Vasile Nicolae, 20-years old, of 2226 Eastlake Avenue, Seattle, Washington, with one felony count each of Attempted Robbery of a Victim Over 60 Years Old. These charges stem from the incident that occurred in the parking lot of Walmart, 930 Mt. Prospect Plaza, on August 26, 2025.
On Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at approximately 3:33 p.m., a Mount Prospect Police Department Community Service Officer was at the Walmart, when he was alerted to a man screaming for help in the parking lot. The Community Service Officer located the man and was informed by the 83-year-old victim that two people had just tried to scam and rob him. The victim was able to get away from the offenders, who fled the parking lot in their vehicle. The Community Service Officer radioed for assistance and shared a description of the vehicle and offenders with other police officers. Police officers and detectives responded to Walmart and were able to locate the suspect vehicle leaving the scene. The vehicle was stopped, and the occupants were identified as Bianca Miclescu and Vasile Nicolae. The victim positively identified Miclescu and Nicolae as the offenders who attempted to give him fake jewelry, while attempting to take his watch from his wrist. The whole incident was captured by the video surveillance system in the Walmart parking lot.
Miclescu and Nicolae were taken into custody and transported to the Mount Prospect Police Headquarters, where the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved one felony count of Attempted Robbery of a Person over 60 years old each for Miclescu and Nicolae. During this investigation, Mount Prospect Police Detectives developed evidence indicating Miclescu and Nicolae are part of a larger trans-continental criminal organization that has been active in the Chicagoland area since July 2025. The Mount Prospect Police Department is actively working with multiple surrounding law enforcement agencies investigating similar crimes, to assist in bringing those cases to a resolution.
On August 27, 2025, Miclescu and Nicolae were brought to a detention hearing, where they were ordered detained until their next court appearance. Their next scheduled court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2025, in Room 109 at 9:30 AM in the 3rd District Court of Rolling Meadows.
“I am thankful that our victim was not injured and very proud of the quick action taken by our Community Service Officer, Officers and Detectives in this situation. As a result of their hard work and dedication to our community, we were not only able to charge these two offenders in our case but are working to assist in solving other cases in the Chicagoland area.”
— Mount Prospect Chief Michael Eterno
The public is reminded that criminal charges are not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
— Mount Prospect Police Department
The surname Nicolae is of Romanian and Greek origin. The surname Miclescu originates from Eastern Europe, primarily Romania.
Similar Crimes in Arlington, Washington near Seattle
Crime rings in Arlington, Washington, about 50 miles north of Seattle, Washington, have been possibly linked to Romanian crime organizations. Arlington police (State of Washington) advised residents to report suspicious activity after reports of possible organized crime rings in the area.
Arlington Police (State of Washington) believe organized crime groups identified by the FBI as Romanian criminal organizations are responsible for reports of scam operations in late Summer 2025.
The scams have been reported primarily around Arlington Safeway, Walmart, the Pilot Travel Center, and off-ramps along the north I-5 corridor, according to the Arlington Police Department.
Scams involved deceptive panhandling and faked emergency situations.
Criminal reports describe individuals posing as …
stranded motorists,
a woman faking pregnancy to solicit money, and
another holding a sign claiming her child has cancer.
The scams also involve fake gold sales, according to an article written by Aspen Anderson and Jenna Peterson published in the Everett Herald, which covers Everett, Marysville, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Lake Stevens, Mukilteo, Arlington, Monroe, Bothell and all of Snohomish County, Washington.
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