Romanian Citizen Pleads Guilty in ATM Skimming Conspiracy

A Romanian citizen pleaded guilty today to a scheme to defraud customers of Bank of America and PNC Bank through conduct known as “ATM skimming.”

Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick of the District of  New Jersey; and Special Agent in Charge Terence S. Opiola of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Newark, New Jersey, Division made the announcement.

Radu Bogdan Marin, 36, a Romanian citizen residing in Glendale, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas of the District of New Jersey.

According to admissions in the plea agreement, Marin and his co-conspirators sought to defraud financial institutions and their customers by illegally obtaining customer account information, including account numbers and personal identification numbers.  Marin admitted that between March 2015 and July 2016, Marin and his co-conspirators used counterfeit ATM cards and stolen customer information to withdraw cash from compromised bank accounts at ATMs in New Jersey.  Marin and his co-conspirators used more than 10 ATM cards to conduct cash withdrawals in New Jersey, withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars, $39,140 of which was personally atrributable to Marin. 

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation’s Newark, New Jersey, Division; U.S. Secret Service’s Boston Field Office; Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Police Department; Cambridge, Massachusetts, Police Department; and Medford, Massachusetts, Police Department investigated the case with assistance from Bank of America Security and Fraud Section and PNC Bank Security Division.  The Middlesex County, Massachusetts, District Attorney’s Office; U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York and U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts Springfield Division assisted in the investigation and prosecution.  Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Graves of the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.