Five Romanian nationals have been sentenced in St. Louis federal court for their roles in a scheme to install skimming devices on area ATMs and steal bank account information from customers.
U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced Mihai Vlaicu, 48, and Mihai Florin Marinescu, 38, to two years in prison each on Friday. Laurentiu Miguel Ivan, 34, Nelu Nae, 37, and Venera Isabelle Dumitru, 28, received sentences equal to the time they already served while awaiting trial in federal custody. All five are expected to be deported after completing their sentences or resolving any other pending cases elsewhere in the country.
All defendants pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. A sixth person charged in the case, Ianus Nita, 53, has not yet been arrested.
According to court documents and authorities, Vlaicu and Marinescu began installing skimming devices at ATMs around January 2024. They targeted machines in Clayton and Frontenac before attempting installations at other locations including south St. Louis County and Wildwood. On May 28 of that year, Marinescu and Nae installed another device on an ATM in St. Louis; law enforcement later discovered and removed it.
The group operated out of an Airbnb rental in St. Louis County where investigators found evidence including a laptop with hundreds of videos showing customers entering PINs at compromised ATMs as well as skimming equipment, installation tools, cash and numerous gift cards.
Authorities said the conspirators managed to steal about $5,200 from eleven victims before being apprehended. Judge Pitlyk ordered restitution for the stolen amount.
The FBI led the investigation along with assistance from local police departments including St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; Webster Groves Police Department; Clayton Police Department; Frontenac Police Department; and support from St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll prosecuted the case.
