6 Southern Californian Foreigners Charged with Massive ATM Skimming Fraud

Six illegal aliens, all living in Southern California, have been charged by federal authorities in connection with their alleged involvement in a sweeping, multi-state conspiracy to install skimming devices on ATMs and retail cash registers, officials said Tuesday.

“Skimming devices enable fraudsters to read and capture account information and PINs when customers swipe or insert their credit, debit, and EBT cards to make a purchase on terminals to which the devices are connected,” reads a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island.

“Information obtained from skimming devices is then used to create counterfeit cards that can be used to withdraw money from victims’ bank accounts or to make purchases.”

Authorities say the individuals, four of whom are Romanian nationals, one is from the United Kingdom and one is from Ireland and all reside in Orange County, allegedly withdrew approximately $300,000 from the bank accounts of unsuspecting victims and made an undisclosed number of retail purchases.

As noted in the release, the alleged operation was discovered in October 2023 when police in Bristol, Rhode Island, began investigating the origin of skimming devices discovered on ATMs at a local bank branch.

Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations later recovered skimming devices at 22 different locations of a major retailer in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and New York.

Irish national Armando Ion Codreanu, 23, of Placentia, has been charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft.

Three additional defendants have been identified and charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud. They are:

• Isabela Ignat Codreanu, 23, from Anaheim and Placentia, California, Romanian citizen

• Robby Vicson Codreanu, 20, Placentia, California, British citizen

• Mila Ciuciu, 20, from Placentia, California, Romanian citizen

Romanian-Irish national Nicolas Longin Codreanu, 21, of Placentia, is currently in the custody of the U.S. Police and faces charges of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft.

An arrest warrant was issued for a sixth person, identified as Romanian national Ionut Zamfir, 37, of Los Angeles. He was charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft.

“The scale, scope, and brazen nature of these defendants’ scheme to steal financial account information from unsuspecting consumers and use it to obtain funds and assets, as we alleged in federal court, is staggering,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. “I commend the excellent work of Homeland Security Investigations, as well as our local law enforcement partners, for their diligent and effective work to dismantle this network of thieves and ensure that those responsible face federal prosecution.”