14 DAY TRIAL // 29-year-old Romanian national Adrian-Tiberiu Oprea, accused of participating in the massive payment card data theft scheme that targeted the point-of-sale (POS) systems of hundreds of US merchants, has pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him.
Oprea admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit access device fraud.
The man and his co-conspirators hacked into POS systems and installed keyloggers that allowed them to harvest payment card data. The collected information was later used to make unauthorized charges and transfer funds from the affected accounts.
It’s believed that the scheme has impacted over 100,000 US cardholders and has helped the crooks make millions of dollars.
Iulian Dolan, one of Oprea’s accomplices, has already pleaded guilty and agreed to a seven-year prison sentence. His sentencing is scheduled for August 15, 2013.
Another co-conspirator, Cezar Butu, was sentenced in January to 21 months in prison.
US Secret Services have used a clever scheme to trick Butu and Dolan into coming to the US on their own.