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Romanian Man Charged with Wire Fraud in Scheme to Defraud Walmart

Hozu Rostas, 25, of Romania, was charged by a federal grand jury with one count of wire fraud for an alleged scheme to defraud Walmart stores. He has not been tried, and the charges remain undecided.

2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 28, 2026, 7:21 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 28, 2026, 7:23 p.m. ET
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Hozu Rostas, 25, of Romania, has been by a federal grand jury with one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud Walmart, according to an indictment filed Aug. 28, 2026, in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo. The case is at the charging stage, and no trial has been held; the charges remain undecided, and Rostas is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The indictment alleges that between February 2025 and June 2026, Rostas used a sleight of hand technique to shortchange Walmart cashiers at stores throughout the United States, including one in Columbia, Mo. He would count out money in separate piles, then take it back, quietly remove a portion, and return the reduced amount. After the cashier put the money into the teller, Rostas would leave with the merchandise and later return it at another Walmart for the full amount, obtaining more than $150,000, the indictment states. The charges are accusations and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron M. Maness and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 28, 2026, 7:21 p.m. ETFirst report

    Romanian Man Charged with Wire Fraud in Scheme to Defraud Walmart

    A federal grand jury in Missouri has charged Hozu Rostas, 25, of Romania, with one count of wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud Walmart, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri. The indictment, filed Aug. 28, 2026, in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, alleges that between February 2025 and June 2026, Rostas used a sleight-of-hand technique to shortchange Walmart cashiers at stores across the United States, including one in Columbia, Mo.

    The indictment alleges that Rostas would count out money in separate piles, then take it back after the cashier counted it, quietly remove a portion, and return the reduced amount. He would then leave with the merchandise and later return it at another Walmart for the full amount. Prosecutors say he obtained more than $150,000 through the scheme.

    The charges are accusations, and Rostas is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron M. Maness and was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.

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Revision history

  1. Version 128 Aug 2026, 23:23current

    First published.

  2. Version 128 Aug 2026, 23:21current

    First published.

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