Source: Office of United States Attorneys
JACKSON, MS – Alexandru Ionut Gheorghe, and Marian Aurelian Neacsu, both nationals of Romania, pleaded guilty today to one count of possession of device making equipment, also known as skimming devices.
According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning on June 21, 2024, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office Cyber Crime Division began receiving reports from various agencies regarding the discovery of skimmer devices being located at various stores in central Mississippi. The Cyber Fraud Task Force began investigating leads that would determine the location of installed skimmers throughout the Southern District of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana.
Gheorghe, 28, and Neacsu, 29, could be seen on surveillance video at various stores throughout the Southern District of Mississippi placing skimming devices on point-of-sale machines in June and July 2024. The skimmers were adhered using double-sided tape and were equipped with electronics that captured or recorded bank card magstripe track data and PIN numbers.
Included in the information skimmed or stolen by these defendants were SNAP benefits totaling over $80,000. SNAP provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget. These stolen SNAP benefits were used in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and can be traced back to the skimming devices in Mississippi.
Gheorghe and Neacsu are scheduled to be sentenced on April 15, 2025, and face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis, and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch made the announcement.
The United States Secret Service and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office are investigating the case through their partnership in the Cyber Fraud Task Force with assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie is prosecuting the case.
The Cyber Fraud Task Force offered the following tips to keep your bank card data safe:
1. Use terminals that offer tap to pay or chip read capabilities. Avoid swiping cards, if possible.
2. Look at the terminal prior to inserting or using your card in relation to other terminals in the store. Do they look the same? Overlay skimmers will add to the overall dimensions of a terminal.