Home Industries Law Suspects in national skimming conspiracy to appear before judge in R.I.

Suspects in national skimming conspiracy to appear before judge in R.I.

By

Katie Castellani

-

07/09/2024

FOUR OF the six people charged in federal court for their roles in a conspiracy to install skimming devices on bank ATMs and in retail stores are scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge in Rhode Island Tuesday.

PROVIDENCE – Four foreign nationals are scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge in Rhode Island for their roles in a national skimming scheme that targeted banking and retail customers, U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Zachary A. Cunha’s office announced Tuesday. The four appearing in court over Tuesday and Wednesday are among six facing

Already a Subscriber? Log in

To Continue Reading This Article

Become a Providence Business News subscriber and get immediate access to all of our premier content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

Critical RI business news and analysis updated daily.
1 year of print (26 issues).
Unlimited access to all subscriber only content on our website, on any device.
Free email alerts.
Annual Book of Lists Print Edition.
All special issues produced during subscription term.

Click Here to purchase a paywall bypass link for this article

PBN Branded Content

Expanding Women’s Health in Newport

South County Health has expanded its award-winning Center for Women’s Health to Newport, offering a…

Learn More

No posts to display

LEAVE A REPLY Cancel reply

PROVIDENCE – Four foreign nationals are scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge in Rhode Island for their roles in a national skimming scheme that targeted banking and retail customers, U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island Zachary A. Cunha’s office announced Tuesday. The four appearing in court over Tuesday and Wednesday are among six facing charges for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to install “skimming” devices on bank ATMs and at retail store checkout point-of-sale units in at least six states, including Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Allegedly, more than $300,000 was stolen from victims’ bank accounts and an as-yet-unknown number of purchases were made at retail outlets. Armando Ion Codreanu, 23, of Placentia, Calif., a citizen of Ireland; Isabela Ignat Codreanu, 23, of Anaheim and Placentia, Calif., a citizen of Romania; Robby Vicson Codreanu, 20, Placentia, Calif., a citizen of Great Britain; and Mila Ciuciu, 20, of Placentia, Calif., a citizen of Romania, are each charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud. Armando Codreanu will make an appearance on charges of conspiracy to commit both access device and bank fraud as well as aggravated identity theft. A fifth defendant, Nicolas Longin Codreanu, 21, of Placentia, California, a citizen of Romania and Ireland, is also charged with conspiracy to commit both access-device fraud and bank fraud,as well as aggravated identity theft. He is in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and is being transported to Rhode Island. A date for when he will appear before a U.S. magistrate judge has not yet been determined. An arrest warrant has been issued for the sixth defendant, Ionut Zamfir, 37, of Los Angeles, Calif., a citizen of Romania. Zamfir has been charged with conspiracy to commit both access-device fraud and bank fraud as well as aggravated identity theft. The defendants are accused of placing skimming devices in at least six states, including Rhode Island and Massachusetts. According to court documents, they put the skimming devices on ATMs in Bristol and Westerly and at retail store checkout in Johnston, Warwick and Coventry, as well as Avon, Raynham, Seekonk and Walpole, Mass. The alleged conspiracy was discovered in Rhode island when the Bristol Police Department started an investigation into the origin of skimming devices found on ATMs at a local bank. According to court documents, Bristol police received a report in October 2023 from a local bank that a skimming device was found on a drive-through ATM. The bank gave officials surveillance footage and photos that allegedly show two men placing and removing a skimming device from the ATM. Homeland Security Investigations found that at least one of the people was also allegedly caught on security cameras installing skimming devices in Warwick, Johnston, and Coventry, and in Seekonk, Raynham, Walpole, and Avon, Mass., in September and December 2023. Also, in December 2023, Homeland Security investigators learned skimming devices were placed on ATMs at two bank branches in Westerly. Security footage of the defendants allegedly matched the images of those responsible for skimming at other locations in the region, according to Cunha’s office.