Romanian 19-year-old charged with thousands in local ATM withdrawal thefts - NCWLIFE
Romanian 19-year-old charged with thousands in local ATM withdrawal thefts
By Jefferson Robbins -07/12/20213018
An ATM photo allegedly of Fabio CIuciu, charged in multiple fraudulent 2019 withdrawals from Wenatchee-area cash machines.
WENATCHEE — A California man suspected of using bogus credit cards to steal about $16,000 from Wenatchee Valley ATMs is now in custody.
Fabio Ciuciu, 19, has been identified as the person in a photograph taken from a Cashmere Valley bank cash machine in February 2019, when he allegedly sought to withdraw cash on a phony credit card. He was charged by warrant with first-degree theft plus nine counts of identity theft, for allegedly using information stolen by credit card skimmers to create fake cards and withdraw cash.
Ciuciu was finally arrested last month in Placentia, California, where he lists a primary address. Court records show Ciuciu also recently established an address in Renton.
Wenatchee police say they worked with federal agencies to identify Ciuciu from the photo, and found him in a Homeland Security database using facial recognition software. He is believed to be a Romanian national who entered the United States illegally as a juvenile in 2016.
Between Feb. 2 and 4, 2019, Ciuciu allegedly used bogus cards to withdraw $16,295 in cash from ATMs around the WEnatchee Valley. Police say the cards were cloned from stolen user information collected by skimmers — illegal card-reading devices inserted into ATM slots to glean users’ financial data.
Ciuciu faces charges of similar ATM crimes in Kitsap County, where he was charged by warrant in February 2020. He was arraigned there last month after his extradition to California, and appeared in Chelan County Superior Court on Friday. He remains in the Chelan County Regional Justice Center on $50,000 bail.
By Jefferson Robbins -07/12/20213018
An ATM photo allegedly of Fabio CIuciu, charged in multiple fraudulent 2019 withdrawals from Wenatchee-area cash machines.
WENATCHEE — A California man suspected of using bogus credit cards to steal about $16,000 from Wenatchee Valley ATMs is now in custody.
Fabio Ciuciu, 19, has been identified as the person in a photograph taken from a Cashmere Valley bank cash machine in February 2019, when he allegedly sought to withdraw cash on a phony credit card. He was charged by warrant with first-degree theft plus nine counts of identity theft, for allegedly using information stolen by credit card skimmers to create fake cards and withdraw cash.
Ciuciu was finally arrested last month in Placentia, California, where he lists a primary address. Court records show Ciuciu also recently established an address in Renton.
Wenatchee police say they worked with federal agencies to identify Ciuciu from the photo, and found him in a Homeland Security database using facial recognition software. He is believed to be a Romanian national who entered the United States illegally as a juvenile in 2016.
Between Feb. 2 and 4, 2019, Ciuciu allegedly used bogus cards to withdraw $16,295 in cash from ATMs around the WEnatchee Valley. Police say the cards were cloned from stolen user information collected by skimmers — illegal card-reading devices inserted into ATM slots to glean users’ financial data.
Ciuciu faces charges of similar ATM crimes in Kitsap County, where he was charged by warrant in February 2020. He was arraigned there last month after his extradition to California, and appeared in Chelan County Superior Court on Friday. He remains in the Chelan County Regional Justice Center on $50,000 bail.
