Man Sentenced for Credit Union ATM Fraud Scheme
Iancu Florea steals nearly $80,000 from the accounts of members of Tinker Federal Credit Union.
A federal judge sentenced Iancu Ovidiu Florea, 53, to time served plus five years of supervised release for stealing nearly $80,000 from credit union member accounts after installing skimmers and pinhole cameras on several Tinker Federal Credit Union ATMs.
U.S. District Judge Claire V. Eagan in Tulsa, Okla., last week also ordered Florea to pay $79,660 in restitution to the $5.7 billion Tinker in Oklahoma City. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud in August.
In his plea agreement, Florea admitted that he and co-defendant Marinel Muchie targeted Tinker ATMs in Yukon, Moore, south Oklahoma City and Tulsa throughout July and August of 2019. The credit union incurred losses totaling $79,660 from 110 compromised member accounts, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Muchie pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud and aggravated identity theft. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 1, 2022.
Florea and Muchie placed skimming devices and tiny cameras on ATMs to steal and store account data, including personal identification numbers when members used their debit cards.
They used this stolen information to create phony debit cards to siphon funds from credit union member accounts. They typically stole $80 to $100 per withdrawal at ATMs in Albuquerque, N.M., and Las Vegas, prosecutors said.
To evade law enforcement authorities, Florea and Muchie used fake IDs to rent vehicles and places to stay.
A Secret Service Task Force in Oklahoma City opened an investigation in August 2019 after the credit union reported finding skimmers and cameras on their ATMs. The Task Force was eventually able to track down Florea after he rented a car in Elmhurst, Ill., where he was stopped by police for a traffic violation. He was arrested after a positive identification was made based on surveillance footage from Tinker.
According to federal prosecutors, Florea and Muchie are Romanian citizens, and have agreed not to contest any deportation proceedings.