14 DAY TRIAL // Victor Vasile Constantin, 23, of Romania, has pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one of identity theft in Connecticut U.S. District Court. The fraudster installed special devices on automated teller machines (ATMs) in order to capture credit card data.
Mr. Constantin was arrested by the Norwalk Police back in March together with Gina Gheorghe, 29, a female accomplice also of Romania, following a surveillance operation. Authorities were alerted by workers from a Norwalk Bank of America branch, who suspected ATM tampering after finding dried glue on one of the machines.
The two were arrested in the bank's parking lot soon after lifting a scanning device and a pinhole video camera that were planted on an ATM. The skimming device had the purpose of copying credit card information stored on its magnetic stripe, which can later be used to clone it. Meanwhile, the video camera was used to record PINs as they were being inputted by the credit card owners.
The suspects were later tied to similar hits at other Bank of America branches in South Norwalk, Greenwich and Ridgefield. The authorities estimate the two Romanian nationals stole at least $150,000 from the accounts of unsuspecting Bank of America customers.
During his plea in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel, Victor Vasile Constantin revealed that he had been in the United States for about a year. According to the Connecticut Post, the judge commented on his good English speaking skills and asked if he studied the language at school. The fraudster said that he only completed his first year of high school and that he learned English by watching movies.
According to his plea agreement, Constantin will not appeal the sentence if it is under 57 months in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 4, 2010 in front of U.S. District Judge Mark Kravitz in New Haven. His accomplice, Gina Gheorghe, still faces state charges.