Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (b)
Romanian law enforcement officials conducted dozens of warrants this week in the Romanian counties of Brasov and Mures, following a parallel investigation with the FBI.
The search warrants targeted locations suspected to have ties to an organized crime group engaged in ATM skimming in the United States and money laundering.
During the operation, Romanian officials also detained several individuals for questioning and seized large amounts of cash, several vehicles, as well as skimming devices and associated instruments.
“This group profited handsomely by targeting vulnerable EBT recipients who rely on funds to support their families and callously deprived victims of their basic needs,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “This investigation is yet another example of FBI Agents working closely with our foreign partners to identify, disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal enterprises who enter the United States illegally for the sole purpose of conducting criminal activity.”
Today’s operation is the culmination of a two-year investigation conducted by the FBI and Romanian authorities to dismantle the command and control of the Dorneanu Organized Crime Group: a transnational criminal organization whose members conduct ATM skimming operations in the United States and then launder the profits back to Romania.
“These individuals targeted and stole from our community’s most vulnerable citizens,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “Working together with our local, federal, and international partners, we can and will continue to root out and punish transnational criminal organizations and protect the less fortunate and American taxpayers.”
The subjects targeted in this investigation worked directly for, or were associated with, Mihai Dorneanu—the alleged leader of the Dorneanu Organized Crime Group. Five members of this organization were arrested by the FBI and convicted in the Central District of California with violations including conspiracy, bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, and visa fraud. Four others were arrested for state violations by local authorities in Ventura and San Bernardino Counties. As a result of ongoing efforts in this case to disrupt ATM skimmers in Southern California, law enforcement recovered over 8,500 stolen credit card numbers belonging to victims in the United States.
The five federal defendants include the following:
- Marius Oprea was sentenced to six years and three months in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Press Release
- Dan Eugen Boar was sentenced to four years in federal prison.
- Radu-Marian Moldovan was sentenced to time served in federal prison.
- Attila Ravasz was sentenced to one year and three months in federal prison.
- Andrei-Raul Cirilescu was sentenced to two years and four months in federal prison.
A statement announcing the operation was also issued by Romanian authorities (translation available upon visiting page).
The domestic investigation was conducted jointly by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office; the San Bernardino County Human Services Fraud Investigation Unit; the Diplomatic Security Service; the Los Angeles Police Department; and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. The federal defendants were prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
The FBI’s foreign partners include the Brașov Brigade for Combatting Organized Crime; prosecutors with the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism—Brașov Territorial Service; and Europol.