Suspects in Multi-State Credit Card Skimming Scheme Appear in Federal Court in RI

Suspects in Multi-State Credit Card Skimming Scheme Appear in Federal Court in RI

The U.S. Attorney's office announced Tuesday that four of six foreign nationals, all of whom are illegally present in the United States, are being charged in federal court for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to install “skimming” devices on bank Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and at retail store checkout point-of-sale units in at least six states.

According to U.S Attorney Zachary Cunha, this includes Rhode Island and Massachusetts -- and the suspects are accused of using credit, debit, and benefit card information gleaned from the skimming devices to create new cards that were then used to fraudulently withdraw cash from victims’ bank accounts and/or to make retail purchases.

“The scale, scope, and brazen nature of these defendants’ scheme to steal the financial account information of unsuspecting consumers and use it to help themselves to funds and property, as we have alleged in federal court, is staggering,” said Cunha.  “I commend the superb work of Homeland Security Investigations, as well as our local law enforcement partners, for their diligent and effective work to disrupt this ring of thieves, and ensure that those responsible face a reckoning in federal court.” 

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They are scheduled to appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Rhode Island on Tuesday.

 

About Case

Charging documents allege that members of the conspiracy placed skimming devices locally on ATMs at banks in Bristol and Westerly, RI, and at retail store checkout terminals in Johnston, Warwick, and Coventry, RI, as well as in Avon, Raynham, Seekonk, and Walpole, MA.  

Skimming devices allow fraudsters to read and capture account information and PIN numbers when customers swipe or insert their credit, debit, and EBT cards to complete a purchase on terminals where the devices have been attached. The information obtained from the skimming devices is then used to create counterfeit cards that can be used to fraudulently obtain cash from victims’ bank accounts, or to make purchases.  

It is alleged that members of the conspiracy used the account information skimmed from unsuspecting victims’ cards to withdraw substantial amounts of cash from bank accounts and to purchase goods at various retailers.

It is alleged that members of the conspiracy withdrew more than $300,000 from unsuspecting victims’ bank accounts locally and made an as yet unknown number of purchases at retail outlets.

Suspects - and Investigation

Armando Ion Codreanu, 23, of Placentia, CA, a citizen of Ireland, is scheduled to make his initial appearance on charges of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Isabela Ignat Codreanu, 23, of Anaheim and Placentia, CA, a citizen of Romania, Robby Vicson Codreanu, 20, Placentia, CA, a citizen of Great Britian, and Mila Ciuciu, 20, of Placentia, CA, a citizen of Romania, are each charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud.

A fifth defendant, Nicolas Longin Codreanu, 21, of Placentia, CA, a citizen of Romania and Ireland, charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft, is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and is being transported to Rhode Island. He will appear before a U.S. Magistrate Judge on a date not yet determined.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a sixth defendant, Ionut Zamfir, 37, of Los Angeles, CA, a citizen of Romania. Zamfir is charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

The alleged conspiracy first came to light when the Bristol Police Department began an investigation into the origin of skimming devices discovered on ATMs at a local bank branch. As an example of the breadth of criminal conduct in this matter as detailed in court documents: to date, skimming devices have been recovered from a single major retailer at 22 separate locations in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. It is alleged that security camera images from those locations depict one or more members of the conspiracy charged in federal court in Rhode Island tampering with the checkout devices.

According to charging documents, in October 2023, the Bristol Police Department received a report from a local bank that a skimming device had been discovered on a drive-through ATM at a local bank. The bank provided law enforcement with surveillance footage and still photographs that are alleged to clearly show two males placing and removing a skimming device from the ATM. Further investigation by Homeland Security Investigations determined that at least one of the individuals was allegedly also visible in security camera images installing skimming devices at retail locations in Warwick, Johnston, and Coventry, RI, and in Seekonk, Raynham, Walpole, and Avon, MA. in September and December 2023.

Additionally, in December 2023, Homeland Security Investigations learned of skimming devices that had been placed on ATMs at two bank branch offices in Westerly, RI. Security images and footage of the individuals who were likely responsible for the placement and removal of the devices, and for withdrawing cash from compromised bank accounts, allegedly match images of individuals responsible for skimming at other locations around the region.