Three women have been sentenced to a combined total of over six years in prison for a series of distraction burglaries targeting vulnerable women in Manchester. Geta Schian, 33, Geneza Dumitru, 35, and Sefora Mazarache, 27, employed a tactic of charming and distracting their victims, often with compliments or hugs, before snatching jewelry.
The group committed multiple offenses over several months between October 2025 and January. In one incident captured on footage, the women surrounded a 97-year-old woman waiting for her husband on Dale Street. Mazarache and Schian embraced the elderly woman, holding her wrist and kissing her, while they stole a jade bracelet. Dumitru was observed acting as a lookout before rejoining the group.
Mazarache was also involved in other incidents. In October 2025, she approached a mother and child in Rusholme, flattering them before attempting to pull a ring from the mother's hand and steal her phone. Later, in November, Mazarache and Schian approached a woman on Oxford Road, asking for money. They then hugged her, led her under an archway, and stole a gold bracelet from her wrist.
Mere hours before the incident involving the 97-year-old woman, two of the women engaged a victim on Oxford Street while the third kept watch. During a hug, one of the perpetrators removed a ring from the woman's finger before fleeing when she screamed for help.
Schian, of Calbourne Avenue, east London, and Dumitru, of Dukinfield Road, Manchester, each received 28-month sentences. Schian was convicted of attempted theft from the person, while Dumitru was convicted of robbery. Mazarache, of Jessop Street, Manchester, was sentenced to 38 months for attempted robbery.
Detective Constable Dombai of Greater Manchester Police stated that such incidents are taken very seriously and expressed hope that the sentence sends a message that robbery will not be tolerated. He urged the public to report similar incidents to the police for pursuit and justice.