A Moldavian man arrested in St. Charles County last summer was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison Wednesday for sending more than $860,000 to  offshore online scammers.

Constantin A. Puiu, 28, who lived in Utah at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty in April in federal court in St. Louis to a felony charge of structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements. He admitted accepting and cashing wire transfers from online shoppers for vehicles, boats, motorcycles and vehicle trailers, then sending that money to Romania or Spain in small amounts to make detection less likely. In all, he wired $863,586.78 overseas. The items for sale did not actually exist.

Puiu was caught after St. Charles County sheriff's deputies became suspicious during a traffic stop on Interstate 70. They later found 11 cell phones, fake IDs, $53,200 in cash and 76 Western Union receipts.