[1] It labeled itself a "mutual-aid game" (hence the name "Caritas", meaning charity in Latin) which had the purpose of helping impoverished Romanians during the transition to capitalism and promised eight times the money invested in six months.
[1] Caritas prospered with the help of the connection it had with the nationalist Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR) and the mayor of Cluj-Napoca, Gheorghe Funar, who welcomed this scheme and even helped it build credibility by renting them space in the Cluj town hall, appearing with Stoica in public and on television, and defending Caritas from attacks.
[4] Dan Pascariu, a banker and the chairman of Bancorex, estimated that between 35% and 50% of Romanian households were involved in the scheme.
The government received warnings about the scheme from several sources, including the Romanian Intelligence Service, which wrote a report in early 1993 (leaked to the press) and from Daniel Dăianu, the chief economist at the National Bank, who called it a fraud.
[3] As president Ion Iliescu commented on the issue, the main reason why the government allowed the game to go on was the fear of being ousted by riots and protests,[6] or being afraid that such a measure would make it more unpopular.
[3] The first signs of the downfall were in autumn 1993, when several western newspapers ran articles on Caritas predicting its failure.
Stoica announced the termination of activities on May 19, 1994, saying his staff was trying to find a way to return the money to some of the depositors.