Home Economy Economic Activity Romanian national faces deportation in multistate ATM skimming conspiracy

Romanian national faces deportation in multistate ATM skimming conspiracy

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PBN Staff

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06/16/2025

7RnotPu0-4cTk5vLT-co4oOI0M-dKKfjIni-9zuRNzNb-DistrictCourt — A ROMANIAN national has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison and faces deportation for participating in a card-skimming conspiracy on ATMs in five states. / COURTESY U.S. DISTRICT COURT

PROVIDENCE – A Romanian national has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison and faces deportation for participating in a card-skimming conspiracy on ATMs in five states, acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom announced. Dumitru Bogdan Pancu, also known as Stefano Garioli and Leon Vutkus, 40 of Queens, N.Y., pleaded guilty

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PROVIDENCE – A Romanian national has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison and faces deportation for participating in a card-skimming conspiracy on ATMs in five states, acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom announced. Dumitru Bogdan Pancu, also known as Stefano Garioli and Leon Vutkus, 40 of Queens, N.Y., pleaded guilty on Dec. 11 to a charge of conspiracy and to commit bank fraud in U.S. District Court. He was sentenced on June 12 to 27 months in federal prison to be followed by two years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay restitution totaling $16,562. Pancu admitted that between May 2022 and July 2024, he and others installed skimming devices on ATMs and stole banking information from unsuspecting banking customers in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey. According to court documents, the stolen information was used to clone counterfeit bank cards that were then used to fraudulently withdraw money from the bank accounts of unsuspecting customers. The conspiracy got law enforcement’s attention on July 5, 2024, when a bank branch manager notified the Warwick Police Department that surveillance video had captured two men later identified Mario Demarco, also known as both Marius Lupu and David Ademec, formerly of Queens, N.Y., and Pancu, placing a skimming device inside a drive-up ATM. A nearby security video also captured images of their vehicle. The same vehicle, according to court documents, was also identified as having been present two days earlier when a skimming device was placed inside an ATM at a bank branch in North Kingstown. A day later, Cranston police reported that a vehicle matching the one recorded by bank security cameras had been captured on a city Flock camera. Warwick police responded to the area of the camera and located the vehicle. Demarco was detained as he walked away from a nearby ATM and Garioli was located sitting in the vehicle. Throughout the course of the conspiracy, Demarco installed skimming devices on at least 10 ATMs and compromised at least 952 cards. He owes restitution to 15 different banks. On June 5, U.S. District Court Judge Mary. S. McElroy sentenced Mario Demarco to 33 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $16,567 in restitution.