Six people charged with stealing $300,000 in card scanning scam at BJ’s, Bank Newport and Walmart

They turned up at BJ’s Wholesale Clubs in Johnston and Warwick, in Seekonk, Mass., at Walmart stores in Coventry, and in Massachusetts at Walmarts in Walpole, Avon and Raynham. Local police were able to collect some of the devices, which are being forensically reviewed by the U.S. Secret Service.

The scheme extended beyond southern New England, according to a special agent who investigated the case. BJ’s Wholesale Club itself also discovered skimming devices at 22 locations between May and August 2023, including Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.

Here’s how the scheme works. Criminals use skimming devices to discreetly record account information from credit and debit cards used at cash registers and ATMs. They install the device on, above, or even inside the actual card reader, so that no one notices it’s there. In some cases, the devices are used with a camera, either inside the device or separately. The camera focuses on the card reader’s keypad, so it can capture images of someone entering their PIN.

Criminals using skimming devices often leave them installed for a short period of time and then retrieve them. They can then transfer stolen account information from debit or credit cards to a computer or other electronic storage device. Participants then match that information to their corresponding PINs. They can also use Bluetooth technology to transfer stolen information from a device to a computer, allowing them to retrieve the stolen information without removing the device.

They can also counterfeit debit and credit cards by transferring details from a real card to a fake one and then using the fake cards to withdraw money from someone’s bank account or business.

According to U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha, this group did it all.

“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,” Cunha said in a statement Tuesday. “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 group of thieves and ensure those responsible face federal prosecution.”

Although all the charges are based on the East Coast, the alleged conspirators are based in California. And none of them should be in the United States.

Most of them will appear Tuesday and Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Providence on federal charges related to the alleged conspiracy.

Armando Ion Codreanu, 23, of Placentia, California, is an Irish citizen who, according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, illegally entered the country to work. He was arrested in Knoxville, Tennessee, in April and charged with identity theft and attempted theft by being in possession of ATM skimming equipment and break-in tools.

Codreanu was charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft.

Isabela Ignat Codreanu, 23, of Anaheim and Placentia, California, a Romanian citizen, was arrested in 2018 and 2021 and charged with illegally entering the United States. She was charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud.

Robby Vicson Codreanu, 20, Placentia, Calif., a British citizen who illegally entered the United States, is also charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud. He was arrested in April in Knoxville and charged with identity theft and attempted theft while in possession of ATM skimming equipment and break-in tools.

Mila Ciuciu, 20, of Placentia, California, a Romanian citizen, was arrested by the Pennsylvania State Police in 2022 and charged with retail theft. She is now charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud.

Nicolas Longin Codreanu, 21, of Placentia, California, a Romanian and Irish citizen, was charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft. He was convicted in March in California after being arrested in 2020 for burglary and fraudulently using a scanning device while manipulating ATMs. He also had a fake ID. He was also arrested in November of last year in California on charges of burglary and possession of burglary tools.

An arrest warrant has been issued for Ionut Zamfir, 37, of Los Angeles, a Romanian citizen. Zamfir is charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and identity theft. He was arrested in 2022 on charges of illegally entering the United States.

Surveillance footage from various stores and banks captured members of the group working together to install and remove devices and use counterfeit cards.

At large stores, one installed scanning devices at self-checkout counters, while two others held bags or purchases to hide what they were doing. At bank ATMs, several members of the group did their job early in the morning, driving or walking to drive-through ATMs and installing the devices.

As a result, thousands of people used those ATMs and teller machines and unknowingly exposed their bank account information, federal authorities said.

“These six individuals are part of an organization that defrauded thousands of Rhode Islanders and beyond of their hard-earned money. The ATM and point-of-sale skimming devices they used operated quickly and efficiently to steal credit card information, allowing them to clone and illegally access the credit cards, bank accounts and other financial accounts of unsuspecting victims,” ​​said Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations New England.

For example, at Newport Bank, 108 customers had their cards stolen and 22 of them made unauthorized transactions totaling more than $17,000.

Westerly Community Credit Union discovered that $279,250 had been stolen from 44 separate accounts last December. The bank discovered what had happened when an elderly couple called police to report $25,000 had been stolen from their account, according to the affidavit.

At Walmart stores in Coventry and Warwick, nearly 5,000 credit or debit cards, or EBT, were run through checkouts equipped with these scanning devices. At Walmart stores in Massachusetts, Quincy, North Attleboro, Raynham and Avon, more than 9,000 cards were run through the scanning devices.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ronald R. Gendron. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the Bristol Police Department, with assistance from the Warwick, Coventry, Westerly, Johnston, Seekonk and U.S. Secret Service police.

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Amanda Milkovits can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @AmandaMilkovits.