Romanian Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud, Other Charges
BOISE – Andrei Mirel, 34, a native of Romania, pleaded guilty today in United States District Court to wire fraud, use of an altered passport, and improper entry by an alien, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, Mirel pleaded guilty to five counts of entering the country illegally, using an altered Netherlands passport at a local bank for identification in order to accomplish wire fraud, and defrauding purchasers who used Western Union to wire him money for non-existent automobiles, which he advertised on the Internet.
The charge of wire fraud is punishable by up to twenty years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, and up to five years supervised release. The charge of use of an altered passport is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years supervised release. The charge of improper entry by alien is punishable by up to six months in prison, a $5,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for October 12, 2011, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge in Boise.
The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
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