Press Release
Romanian National Sentenced for ATM Skimming Fraud
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that MIHAI ALEXANDRU DINU, age 41, of Romania, was sentenced today after previously pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud related to the use of ATM “skimming” devices.
U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown sentenced DINU to 27 months imprisonment to be followed by two years of supervised release. Additionally, DINU was ordered to pay $118,608.38 in restitution. As an illegal alien, DINU is subject to immediate deportation after incarceration.
According to court records, in January 2015, the U.S. Secret Service and the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force began investigating the unauthorized collection of debit card numbers through the installation of “skimming devices” on various ATM machines and the subsequent illegal use of fake debit cards in the Eastern District of Louisiana. In March 2016, DINU and another man were captured on surveillance video using fake debit cards to withdraw funds from three local bank accounts. Subsequently, DINU admitted to investigators that he had illegally entered the United States and joined in with a group of individuals who used fake passports and fake driver’s licenses to travel within the United States for the purpose of making the illegal ATM withdrawals. DINU also participated in a similar ATM skimming conspiracy in Virginia prior to arriving in Louisiana.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Agents from the United States Secret Service and the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force, along with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Edward J. Rivera and Carter Guice were in charge of the prosecution.
Updated September 8, 2016
Topic
Financial Fraud
Component