By Paul Frangipane
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
A couple was arraigned in federal court on Monday after a grand jury indicted them for allegedly stealing debit card info from ATMs and using it to make more than 500 withdrawals from machines throughout the city, including in Brooklyn.
Mariana Oaie and Leonard Iordache pleaded not guilty to the indictment that charged them with using counterfeit access devices, aggravated identity theft and other counts.
The two are accused of stealing victims’ debit card information from ATMs at two Queens Walgreens and a Duane Reade, according to a criminal complaint. They allegedly stole card numbers from at least 38 people at the Walgreens and 263 at the Duane Reade.
They then allegedly used the info between November 2017 and January 2016 to make 533 withdrawals for $158,720 throughout New York, including at 7-Eleven stores in Brooklyn. The scheme stretched into New Jersey, where they stole $7,260.
Specifically, the pair is accused of using “skimming devices” placed over the card insertion slot of the ATM to strip the information of any card inserted, according to the complaint. Because the devices don’t typically capture the person’s PIN number, prosecotrs allege the two installed cameras that faced the keypad to record the codes.
Surveillance cameras caught them withdrawing from the ATMs after Citibank representatives reported skimming devices found, sparking an investigation.
Oaie and Iordache were each released on $50,000 bail at their previous arraignment before the indictment. They are scheduled to appear before Judge Frederic Block on May 18.