Romanian Man Sentenced for ATM Scam and ID Theft

RICHMOND, Va. – A Romanian man was sentenced today to 65 months in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, Viorel Naboiu, aka “Luigi Latorza,” 44, originally from Craiova, Romania, conspired with several other individuals, including co-defendant Florin Bersanu, to steal money from banks and credit unions in multiple states through an ATM-skimming operation. Naboiu and his co-conspirators manufactured and then inserted small skimming devices deep into the card reader slots of dozens of bank branch ATMs. These skimming devices copied the information on the magnetic stripe of the bank customer’s debit cards when customers used their cards to conduct ATM transactions. The conspirators also mounted pinhole cameras, hidden behind plastic flashing designed to blend into the ATMs’ housing, which surreptitiously recorded the finger-taps of PINs used by bank customers during their transactions. Naboiu and his cohorts skimmed card information and PINS from over 1,300 bank customers. At sentencing he was held accountable for over $150,000 in actual losses and over $646,000 in intended losses.

Naboiu’s co-defendant, Bersanu, was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2018, to 57 months in prison.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and MaryJo Thomas, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian R. Hood prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:18-cr-75.