Blink and you’d miss it: video footage shows the moment a prolific distraction thief slyly slips a diamond ring, worth £5,750, out of sight just inches away from an unsuspecting jeweller.
Claudia Rostas was part of a Romanian gang known for travelling the country to rip off jewellers – and demonstrated her well-honed methods at Hamilton’s, a family-run jewellers in Christchurch, Dorset.
But the 33-year-old, who has previous convictions for similar thefts, was spared jail because her 12-year-old son is being treated for cancer four years after she lost another child to the condition.
The thief, who is on benefits, made just £750 from the theft of the £5k ring – and may have gotten away with the crime had the jeweller’s CCTV system not been on hand to pick up every second of her deception in intricate detail.
Together with a male accomplice, she was captured walking into the store on April 26 2025 shortly before closing time at 4.50pm and made enquiries about the ring.
Then came the trick: she asked staff to gift wrap it and, at the last second, changed her mind about the style of paper and ribbon she wanted them to use.
As the female jeweller turns her head for all of a few seconds, Rostas palms the ring, closes the lid of the box and replaces the sleeve.
She continued to look up at the worker as she did so – evidently well-versed in pulling the trick off without looking at her hands.
Blink and you’d miss it: Claudia Rostas is seen swiping the diamond ring from the box in the seconds that a staff member has turned her head
Rostas (pictured outside court) was described as ‘dishonest’ and has a raft of previous convictions for similar thefts
Together with a male accomplice she struck at Hamilton’s Jewellers (pictured) in Christchurch, Dorset
The con-woman handed the empty package back to the unwitting staff member, who began to gift-wrap it assuming the ring is inside as Rostas counted out cash.
Then came the getaway as Rostas ‘discovered’ that she didn’t have enough money. She told the staff she would get the rest from her mother outside and left – leaving them with what they assumed was the ready-wrapped gift.
Moments later, it dawned on them that they’ve been had… living every jeweller’s worst nightmare, the woman who served Rostas opened the ring box and found it empty.
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Rostas – part of a gang with convictions across Teesside, Kent, Devon, London, Bradford and Rotherham for similar thefts spanning more than a decade – was identified via CCTV and arrested at Stansted Airport as she returned from Romania.
The ring itself was never found – and she refused to help police track it down.
At Poole Magistrates’ Court, prosecutor Charles Nightingale detailed the thief’s method in full, adding: ‘When [staff] opened the ring box back up there’s no ring.
‘The defendant, through distraction, pocketed the ring. It is lost, the ring has not been recovered.’
Rostas had been the subject of a conditional discharge sentence for an offence in Kent when she committed this latest theft.
Guy Gosheron, defending, said her client made £750 from the theft which she used to treat her sick 12-year-old son, who has acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and a brain tumour, and is only expected to live for up to three years.
She also lost a child to cancer in 2022 and faced ‘significant financial difficulties’ travelling from their home in Southgate, north London, to Great Ormond Street Hospital several times a week for chemotherapy.
Mr Gosheron said: ‘She had been out of trouble for some time and the resumption of her offending results from her son being ill.
‘Tragically the prognosis is very bleak and she wants to be able to provide him with gifts while she can make the most of the time they have together.
‘She’s not working and on benefits and has been financially strained so wasn’t in the best position to shower her child with gifts. Because of that she resorted to committing this offence.
‘Courts are wary of people who hide behind the fact of having children to throw themselves on the mercy of the court.
‘But a period of imprisonment might deny her the chance to be with the child when they die, I would ask the court to consider whether there’s an alternative.’
A close-up of the moment that Rostas palms the ring and hides it as she closes the box – all while looking at the female shop worker
Rostas entered the store under the guise of buying the ring – then left when she claimed she needed more money from her mother outside
District Judge Orla Austin described Rostas as a ‘dishonest woman’ who had shown ‘limited remorse’, with a demonstrable track record of theft across England.
She showed the Romanian some mercy, however, by opting not to send her to prison so she could be with her son.
‘This was a sophisticated, deliberate distraction theft,’ she told Rostas. ‘Ultimately you are a skilled thief and used your skill to take that ring which has now disappeared and cannot be recovered.
‘I make it clear I have considerable reservations about your honesty. You tell me you very sadly had one child who passed away through cancer and now have another.
‘Mr Gosheron has seen documentation which seems to corroborate that. I am just prepared to give you one final opportunity and suspend your sentence.’
Rostas, who admitted theft, was given a 26-week sentence suspended for two years and 20 rehabilitation activity days and ordered her to pay £800 compensation, taken monthly from her benefits.
The judge also handed her a ban on visiting every shop in England and Wales save for food stores, post offices and chemists for the next year.
She added: ‘If you want an electrical item or clothing you will have to get it in a supermarket or online.
‘I do recognise that’s a significant infringement on your liberty but given your prolific offending I believe that is proportionate.’
