Press Release
Hungarian Nationals Sentenced for Aggravated Identity Theft
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that DANIEL TANASE, age 39, and GABRIELLA TEKSE, age 31, both Hungarian nationals, each pleaded guilty yesterday and were sentenced to two years in prison for aggravated identity theft by U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier.
According to court documents, the defendants were arrested after an investigation initiated by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office based on reports that two individuals were attempting to use stolen debit card information to withdraw money at ATMs in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. Members of the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force arrested TANASE and TEKSE on June 19, 2018, at an AirBnB in Jefferson Parish, where they were found with cash and approximately 81 cards that had been encoded with stolen bank account information.
TANASE and TEKSE were each sentenced to two years in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Judge Barbier also ordered them to forfeit $32,615.25 in U.S. currency that was seized as proceeds of the crime at the time of TANASE and TEKSE’s arrest.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the agencies that contributed to this bill of information, which represents a coordinated effort of federal and state law enforcement authorities within the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force. The Task Force includes representatives from the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Louisiana Attorney General’s Office, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, New Orleans Police Department, Covington Police Department, Hammond Police Department, Kenner Police Department, Louisiana State Police, Mandeville Police Department, Slidell Police Department, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. John The Baptist Sheriff’s Office, St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office, St. Tammany Parish District Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. State Department, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. U.S. Attorney Strasser also thanked the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office for their assistance. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew R. Payne is in charge of the prosecution.
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Updated November 30, 2018
Topic
Identity Theft
Component