Romanian National Sentenced for Bank Fraud

U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that MARINICA MIREL COTOI, age 37, of Romania, was sentenced today after  previously pleading guilty to one count of bank fraud.

U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown sentenced COTOI to 8 months of incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release.   Additionally, COTOI was ordered to pay restitution to the victim banks and is subject to deportation following completion of his incarceration.

According to court documents, 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 March of this year, COTOI and another man rented a hotel room in Covington.  Shortly thereafter, COTOI was captured on surveillance video using fake debit cards to withdraw funds from three local bank accounts. COTOI later admitted that he illegally entered the United States.

U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the U.S. Secret Service and the Louisiana Financial Crimes Task Force with the assistance of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter.  Assistant United States Attorneys Edward Rivera and Carter Guice were in charge of the prosecution.