Four foreign nationals have pleaded guilty in a Rhode Island federal court to their involvement in a multi-state ATM and retail skimming conspiracy. Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom announced the admission, which involved the illegal compromise of over 15,000 credit, debit, and Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. The defendants reportedly made unauthorized bank withdrawals and retail purchases amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The group used skimming devices to steal personal financial information from card users at retail outlets and ATMs. The investigation showed that between May 2023 and February 2024, they compromised cards across Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
In Rhode Island alone, over 200 debit cards were compromised at two financial institutions leading to more than $280,000 in unauthorized withdrawals from 67 accounts.
Robby Vicson Codreanu from the United Kingdom; Isabela Ignat Codreanu from Romania; Armando Ion Codreanu and Nicolas Longin Codreanu from Ireland have all pleaded guilty to several charges including conspiracy to commit access device fraud and trafficking in counterfeit access devices. Additional charges were admitted by Nicolas and Armando Codreanu regarding unauthorized access devices issued to others.
Sentencing for Nicolas Codreanu is set for October 14, 2025. Isabella, Armando, and Robby Codreanu will be sentenced on October 21, 2025. Sentences will be determined based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines among other factors.
Two other Romanian nationals involved in the case, Ionut Zamfir and Mila Ciuciu are awaiting trial.
Assistant United States Attorney Ronald R. Gendron is prosecuting the cases with investigations conducted by Homeland Security Investigations alongside multiple police departments including Bristol Police Department. Support was also provided by agents in Lafayette LA., New York NY., Los Angeles CA., and the United States Secret Service.
