ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two Romanian nationals were sentenced on May 27 to three years and three months in prison for conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to court documents, from at least Nov. 29, 2024, to Nov. 19, 2025, Adrian Vasile Marin, 36, Sorin Postolache, 37, and their co-conspirators used “skimmer” devices to capture the credit and debit card information and personal identification numbers from unsuspecting victims at point-of-sale terminals and automated teller machines (ATMs). The conspirators then used the stolen credit and debit card information to create counterfeit cards to fraudulently withdraw funds from the victims’ bank accounts.
Marin and Postolache used fake passports and identity cards to rent mailboxes to receive equipment, often from overseas, to construct skimmers. Their home and storage unit were used to store numerous partially assembled and fully assembled skimmers, skimmer components, pinhole cameras, parts and facias of ATMs to which skimmers and pinhole cameras could be attached, parts of point-of-sale terminals, and stickers of store logos. Those locations also contained $100,377 in cash, 2,881 stolen card numbers or access devices, and numerous computers, cell phones, SD cards, and thumb drives capable of storing credit card, debit card, and PIN information.
The U.S. Secret Service’s Criminal Investigative Division and the FBI Washington Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the New York City Police Department.
Former Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katlin O'Brien and Zachary Ray prosecuted the case.
Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 1:26-cr-32 (Marin) and 1:26-cr-33 (Postolache).
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Eastern District of Virginia — U.S. Department of Justice press release.