Alexandru Ionut Gheorghe and Marian Aurelian Neacsu, both Romanian nationals, have admitted guilt to possessing device-making equipment known as skimming devices. These devices were discovered at various stores in central Mississippi starting on June 21, 2024. The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office Cyber Crime Division received reports leading to an investigation by the Cyber Fraud Task Force into the location of installed skimmers across Southern Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana.
Surveillance footage from June and July 2024 showed Gheorghe, aged 28, and Neacsu, aged 29, placing skimming devices on point-of-sale machines throughout Southern Mississippi. These devices captured bank card magstripe track data and PIN numbers using electronics attached with double-sided tape.
The stolen information included over $80,000 in SNAP benefits intended for low-income families. These benefits were fraudulently used in New Jersey and Pennsylvania but traced back to the skimmers in Mississippi.
Gheorghe and Neacsu are set for sentencing on April 15, 2025. They could face up to 15 years in prison. The sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi along with U.S. Secret Service Special Agent Patrick Davis and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch.
The case is under investigation by the United States Secret Service and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office through their partnership in the Cyber Fraud Task Force with assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie is handling prosecution.
To protect bank card data, the Cyber Fraud Task Force advises using terminals that offer tap-to-pay or chip-read capabilities instead of swiping cards whenever possible. Additionally, consumers should compare terminals before use; overlay skimmers can alter a terminal's dimensions.