LOS ANGELES
A federal judge sentenced Romanian Marius Oprea, 38, to six years and three months in federal prison for orchestrating a fraud that primarily victimized low-income families, officials stated.
According to the Justice Department, the scheme involved installing illegal skimming devices on ATMs, creating counterfeit debit cards with stolen data, and withdrawing funds from numerous accounts, including public assistance recipients.
Residing in Port Hueneme in a short-term rental, Oprea was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong. The judge also ordered that he pay restitution of $28,974 from him.
Officials stated that the government’s sentencing memorandum pointed out that Oprea entered the U.S. to exploit weaker ATM security, dedicating himself to fraud as though it were a full-time occupation and compromising thousands of victims’ accounts.
Admitting to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in June 2023, Oprea disclosed that his group fraudulently used counterfeit cards for cash withdrawals.
He operated under an alias to obtain sophisticated skimming equipment, managed a central list of stolen account details, and lived transiently, highlighting the group’s professional execution of their criminal activities.
The operation targeted Bank of America accounts, notably those linked to California’s anti-poverty programs, exploiting vulnerable unemployed and disabled individuals.
An FBI agent noted that the victims most frequently targeted relied on government payments for survival.
The FBI led the investigation.
Assistant United States Attorney Andrew Brown of the Major Frauds Section handled the prosecution.