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Romanian Pleads Guilty to Attempted Bank Fraud Using an ATM Skimming Device
justice.gov ^ | July 24, 2020 | U.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Louisiana

Posted on 07/25/2020 3:13:01 PM PDT by ransomnote

LAKE CHARLES, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a Romanian citizen pleaded guilty to attempted bank fraud on Tuesday morning, July 21, 2020, admitting that he used an ATM skimming device in an attempt to steal money from the City Savings Bank in Deridder, Louisiana. U.S. District Judge James D. Cain, Jr. presided over the hearing.

As part of his plea agreement, Gigi Velcu, 37, admitted that he attempted to defraud and intended to defraud the bank’s customers by using skimming equipment, including a camera, at the bank’s ATM. The skimming equipment was used to collect bank customer card data and the camera recorded the keypad as customers entered their PINs.

After receiving a complaint from City Savings Bank, the DeRidder Police Department initiated surveillance of the ATM. Velcu was seen on the surveillance video inserting a card into the ATM’s reader in order to activate the harvesting of the bank account numbers contained on the skimming device’s hard drive. Velcu further admitted that the bank account information and video recordings of the PINs would have been used to create counterfeit debit cards which would then be used to make purchases and obtain cash.

At sentencing on October 15, 2020, Velcu faces 30 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, five years of supervised release, and possible deportation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the DeRidder Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Ayo is prosecuting the case.

# # #

The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.

Topic(s): 
Financial Fraud
Identity Theft
Component(s): 


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: romanian

1 posted on 07/25/2020 3:13:01 PM PDT by ransomnote
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To: ransomnote

Gypsy?


2 posted on 07/25/2020 3:16:59 PM PDT by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: ransomnote

They do that in Germany a lot. Should have got himself caught there. He would be out by next week.


3 posted on 07/25/2020 3:19:15 PM PDT by cartan
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To: DIRTYSECRET
Maybe. Velcu has been at it all over Europe too. Very well could be a thieving Gypsy - Țigan.
4 posted on 07/25/2020 3:32:06 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal (Like Enoch, Noah, & Lot, the True Church will soon be removed & then destruction comes forth.)
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To: DIRTYSECRET

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7383641/Romanian-fraudsters-stole-12-000-vulnerable-elderly-shoppers-Aldi-Lidl-stores.html


5 posted on 07/25/2020 3:32:17 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal (Like Enoch, Noah, & Lot, the True Church will soon be removed & then destruction comes forth.)
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To: Roman_War_Criminal

The European PC expression for Gypsy is “Traveler”. The word gypsy is out.


6 posted on 07/25/2020 3:43:37 PM PDT by Stevenfo
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To: ransomnote

SPJNK.


7 posted on 07/25/2020 3:48:05 PM PDT by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: Stevenfo
The European PC expression for Gypsy is “Traveler”. The word gypsy is out.

How about "Travelers" for the next mascot of the Washington Football Team? lolol

8 posted on 07/25/2020 3:52:05 PM PDT by Night Hides Not (Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! Remember Gonzales! Come and Take It!)
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To: Night Hides Not

Use Romani then no one knows who or what you’re talking about !


9 posted on 07/25/2020 3:59:39 PM PDT by Reily
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To: Stevenfo

“The European PC expression for Gypsy is “Traveler”. The word gypsy is out.”

It’s British, Irish and American.


10 posted on 07/25/2020 6:51:50 PM PDT by dljordan
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To: dljordan

“The European PC expression for Gypsy is “Traveler”. The word gypsy is out.”

It’s British, Irish and American.
= = = = = = = = = = = =
Yes as G Carlin may have put it

Don’t confuse The Irish Rovers with The Irish Travelers...


11 posted on 07/25/2020 7:30:27 PM PDT by xrmusn (6/98"HRC is the Grandmother that lures Hansel & Gretel to the pot")
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To: Reily
I use the German word Zigeuner. Sounds similar to the Russian Цыган (tsygan) which also sounds pretty close to what they call themselves.
12 posted on 07/26/2020 3:32:53 AM PDT by cartan
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To: xrmusn

“Irish Travelers” - interesting group, their origin is a bit of a mystery. They are not Central Asian\Indian sub-continent in origin like the Romani.


13 posted on 07/26/2020 6:48:19 AM PDT by Reily
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To: Reily

Yes, interesting subject.
Though I am of Irish descent I had never really associated the ‘Irish Travelers’ as an indigenous social group and I did just see that they are a recognized faction in Ireland as of 2017.

My ‘knowledge’ of them comes from my Asphalt days and we called the ‘motor oil’ for asphalt sealer and poor, sloppy, money upfront incomplete asphalt jobs went to the ‘Gypsies’ which it turns out are a faction of the ‘Irish Travelers’ at least on the East Coast where they would descend on areas like locusts and I did notice that in early spring most of my ‘Irish’ associated Asphalt Cos had the ‘owners’ on vacation with when putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with 5 one may suspect they were going for annual ‘meetings’—pure speculation on my part but the few ‘Irish’ asphalt owned ‘small business’ people that I know were in the ‘missing’ category.

I believe the show ‘Law & Order Criminal Intent’ had a show ‘dedicated’ to the group where Goren and Eames showed them up and ‘got close’ (from what I understand they are not that easily infiltrated)


14 posted on 07/26/2020 7:16:33 AM PDT by xrmusn (6/98"HRC is the Grandmother that lures Hansel & Gretel to the pot")
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To: xrmusn

I read one paper about them that makes a “weak” argument (Weak because evidence is so lacking!) that the “Travelers” are a remnant of the pre-Celtic inhabitants of Ireland. (Somebody was there before the Celts!) The author claims that Ireland has always had this “outside” group at the fringes of society who became “ The Travelers”. I think in Britain they’re called “Tinkers”.


15 posted on 07/26/2020 7:41:02 AM PDT by Reily
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