Three Romanian Nationals Arrested in ATM Skimmer Investigation

DALLAS, TX – Three Romanian nationals were arrested for engaging in organized criminal activity and unlawful interception, use, or disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications, following an investigation led by the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center (TX FCIC).

The suspects, Mihai Florin Marienscu, 37, Nelu Nae, 36, and Mihai Vlaicu, also known as Tibor Biro, 47, are accused of placing credit card skimmers on ATMs in Dallas and Tarrant counties. 

These skimmers, illegal devices added to card readers, capture card information, enabling thieves to steal from customers' accounts. The FBI estimates that skimmers steal $1 billion annually from banks and their customers.

The arrested individuals are also suspects in multiple skimmer investigations across several states. They allegedly used deep-insert skimmers to collect information from card magnetic strips and pinhole cameras to capture PINs entered on ATMs. This information can be used to create cloned cards, allowing access to victims’ bank accounts.

During the investigation, 26 deep-insert skimmer devices and parts to complete 13 additional devices were recovered. 

The operation involved TX FCIC special agents, St. Louis Metropolitan (MO) District 2 Detectives, Euless (TX) Police Department Economic Crimes Unit, Dallas (TX) Police Department North Central Patrol Division CRT, Colleyville (TX) Police Department Special Investigations Unit, the United States Secret Service, and asset protection investigators from several retail partners.