ATM Fraud On The South Shore: 3 Men Plead Guilty

BOSTON, MA — Three Romanian nationals plead guilty in federal court Tuesday to stealing banking information from people at dozens of ATMs in Braintree, Quincy, and Weymouth.

Suedin Chiciu, 28, and Florinel Vaduv, 22, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy. Vaduv also pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft in court. Sentencing is scheduled for January.

Nicusor Bonculescu, 24, was sentenced Tuesday to three years of prison, three years of probation, and was ordered to pay $72,922 in restitution. His charges included racketeering, conspiracy to use counterfeit access devices and aggravated identity theft.

Prosecutors said the three men were part of a group called “The Hornea Crew,” who stole debit cards and PIN numbers. They used that information to create counterfeit cards and used them to take money out of people's bank accounts.

The money was transferred throughout the United States and to Romania and China, the U.S. Attorney’s office told the Patriot Ledger.

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