BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that Giovani Hornea, 21, of Romania, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, was sentenced to 38 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant was also ordered to pay $156,266.30 in restitution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marie P. Grisanti, who handled the case, stated that between October 4, 2015, and Nov. 14, 2015, the defendant conspired with co-defendants Nicolae Sarbu and his wife, Marinela Unguru-Ducila, and others to execute a scheme to defraud Bank of America.
The defendants used skimming devices and cameras on seven occasions at automated teller machines (ATM’s) in the Buffalo and Rochester areas as well as in the State of Pennsylvania. Bank account information and personal identification numbers (PIN’s) were recorded without the true account holder’s knowledge or authorization and then used to make unauthorized withdrawals of cash from the various ATM’s. A skimmer is a device used unlawfully to record bank account information from a customer’s debit card when the card is inserted into an ATM.
Nicolae Sarbu has been convicted and was sentenced to 25 months in prison. Marinela Unguru-Ducila was also convicted and sentenced to time served and one year supervised release.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
