TULSA, Okla.–A Romanian national who admitted to creating and using fake ATM cards with stolen credit union account information has been sentenced to time already served in federal custody, in addition to paying restitution.
The case involved investigators in the U.S., the U.K. and Europe.
Iancu Ovidiu Florea, 53, also known as Iancu Jianu, was ordered to pay $79,660 in restitution to Tinker Federal Credit Union and to serve five years of supervised release, the Tulsa World reported, adding that Florea admitted in August to participating in an ATM "shimming" or "skimming" operation with several other Romanian nationals beginning in July 2019.
Skimmers are placed over ATM card readers to read the magnetic strips on cards, while shimmers read the chips on chip cards. Financial institutions across the country have been hit by both types of scams.
The devices were installed on ATMs at four Tinker FCU branch locations in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City areas between July 21 and Aug. 3, 2019, according to the Tulsa World, and would record member account information along with their PINs.
“Florea admitted to using the information to create fake ATM cards that were used to withdraw cash in other cities from members’ accounts in transactions ranging from $80 to $1,000,” the World reported. “Prosecutors said when charges were filed that more than 100 member accounts were hit by the scam.
Investigators said at the time an arrest warrant was issued for Florea in 2019 they believed his real name was Iancu Jianu and that he had been traveling the U.S. on a stolen Belgian passport.
Security Camera Footage
According to the report, Florea was identified on security camera footage as one of three people seen installing and removing the devices.
“Authorities caught a break in the investigation when an ATM security camera in Albuquerque, N,M. recorded a fraudulent cash withdrawal and one of the criminals, identified in documents only as ‘M.M’,” the report stated. “The security camera also recorded the license tag of a rented Toyota driven by M.M. The vehicle was returned to a rental agency in Las Vegas, where a Mercedes was rented by a man later identified as Jianu, according to court records.”
Tracked Via GPS
Investigators tracked Jianu’s movements via the internal global positioning satellite system in the rented Mercedes he was driving from Las Vegas to the Chicago area, where he was arrested on a federal warrant issued in Michigan, the Tulsa World said.
When stopped, the driver produced a Belgian passport that was believed to have been lost or stolen in June. A check of the driver’s fingerprints revealed that he was wanted for similar crimes dating back to 2009 in Michigan under the name Iancu Oviduu Florea.
Investigators used the United Kingdom police system to determine that the man was Jianu, who was sought by Interpol for unspecified crimes.