Two Romanian nationals were sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with an ATM skimming scheme operating throughout Massachusetts and several other states including Connecticut, New York and South Carolina.
Denisa Bonculescu, 27, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $43,082 and forfeiture of $10,773. In a separate hearing, Anamaria Margel, 24, was sentenced to 16 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $27,582 and forfeiture of $4,597. Bonculescu and Margel will face deportation proceedings upon completion of their sentences. Bonculescu and Margel pleaded guilty in December 2017 to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, conspiracy to use counterfeit access devices and money laundering conspiracy.
Bonculescu and Margel, along with 12 others, were indicted in connection with the ATM skimming scheme in May 2017.
The defendants, except for one, were members of the Hornea Crew, led by Constantin Denis Hornea and Ludemis Hornea, and engaged in ATM skimming – obtaining debit card numbers and PINs from unsuspecting bank customers, creating counterfeit cards, and making unauthorized withdrawals from the victims’ bank accounts.
Over a period of 18 months, the crew installed skimming devices and made unauthorized withdrawals in seven states, including Massachusetts. In particular, members of the crew installed skimming devices in Amherst, Bellingham, Billerica, Braintree, Chicopee, Quincy, Southwick, Waltham, Weymouth, and Whately, Massachusetts, and additional locations in Connecticut, South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina. The crew made unauthorized withdrawals at ATMs in approximately 29 Massachusetts towns; seven Connecticut towns; six New York towns; Salem, New Hampshire; and Sumter, South Carolina.
Members of the Hornea Crew transferred money throughout the U.S., Romania and the People’s Republic of China. Some of those transfers were for the purchase of skimming devices and related components from abroad.
