Chatham County Police Identify Suspects in Grocery Store Fraud Case, Captured in California

The Chatham County Police Department has identified and secured arrest warrants for two men in connection with a fraud case at a local grocery store in April 2024. Detectives have issued warrants for 46-year-old Romanian national Vasile Stan and 27-year-old Czech Republic national David Novak. Both are charged with Financial Transaction Card Fraud, two counts of Financial Transaction Card Theft, Identity Theft, Robbery, and Criminal Receipt of Goods and Services.

Stan and Novak are currently held in a California jail, arrested for a similar but unrelated case. They are awaiting extradition to Georgia to face the charges from Chatham County.

Surveillance footage captured the pair at the Publix located at 155 Johnny Mercer Boulevard around 12:30 p.m. on April 16, 2024. Chatham County detectives identified Stan and Novak and gathered evidence of their involvement in the crime, subsequently tracing them to California.

Investigators have not confirmed any additional involvement of Stan and Novak in other cases across the U.S.