PITTSBURGH - A citizen of Romania pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Elvis E. Roman, 33, of Romania, pleaded guilty to a two-count Indictment and one-count Information before United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that, in September and October 2018, Roman participated in a conspiracy and scheme to defraud banks in Western Pennsylvania. As part of the scheme, participants installed ATM skimming devices designed to fraudulently obtain the account information associated with cards inserted into the targeted ATM machines. Using that account information, participants created cloned ATM cards and fraudulently withdrew funds from ATM machines maintained by banks in Washington County.
Judge Fischer scheduled sentencing for Oct. 3, 2019 at 9 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 32 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court continued the defendant’s detention.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey R. Bengel is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The United States Secret Service and the Cecil Township, Peters Township, and South Strabane Township Police Departments conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment in this case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
