23/05/2026
This is Elena Firu, a 37 year old woman arrested after deputies caught her using her children to collect money for a fake funeral along a busy roadway in Palm Coast, Florida. Days after launching a crackdown on roadside soliciting along the I-95 corridor, Flagler County deputies responded to the intersection of Palm Coast Parkway and Boulder Rock Drive, where they found Firu and her two juvenile sons walking through traffic wearing neon vests, holding signs and buckets, and asking drivers for money. When deputies made contact, Firu initially gave a false name, identifying herself as Maria Dimitru. Investigators later confirmed her real identity as Elena Firu. She told deputies she was collecting money for her niece’s funeral, claiming the girl had died in a car accident in France just days earlier. However, during questioning, Firu admitted the story was false and that the girl pictured on the signs was actually alive and no funeral existed. Deputies also reviewed surveillance footage showing the children walking through traffic without supervision while continuing to solicit money from drivers, creating a dangerous situation on the roadway. Outcome: Elena Firu was arrested and charged with obstructing a highway, providing a false name to law enforcement, scheme to defraud, and two counts of child neglect. She was later released on a $16,500 bond, while the children were placed with a relative after the Department of Children and Families was notified.
