A Romanian man and woman residing illegally in Houston have confessed to their involvement in an ATM skimming operation across multiple banks in the area, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Perla Miclescu, 26, and Rafael Rafaila, 21, both Romanian citizens, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. In April 2024, they installed skimmers on ATMs to capture debit and credit card information through magnetic strips. The stolen data was stored on a computer chip attached to the device after victims used their cards.
The initial incident occurred on April 4, 2024. Security footage from a Houston bank captured Ana Maria Dirman, 30, and Mihai Alexandru Gaita, 38—both also from Romania—installing an ATM skimmer while using a 2004 Ford Explorer.
Further investigation revealed that this vehicle appeared at two other banks in Baytown about two weeks later. Both locations had deep insert skimmers and pinhole camera devices placed on their ATMs.
Law enforcement later found Miclescu and Rafaila with the same Ford Explorer. A search uncovered two overlay pinhole camera devices, materials for making these cameras, 24 counterfeit credit cards (reencoded), and one deep insert skimmer.
Authorities discovered that Miclescu purchased super glue, two 32G Micro SD cards, and scissors—all tools used in ATM skimming activities.
On April 5 and 7 of the same year, Miclescu and Rafaila were seen operating a gold-colored minivan while placing another skimming device on different ATMs.
U.S. District Judge Sim Lake accepted their pleas with sentencing scheduled for August 15. Both will remain in custody until then.
Gaita has also pleaded guilty with sentencing set for August 15 as well. Meanwhile, Dirman remains at large with an outstanding warrant for her arrest. The public is urged to contact the United States Secret Service Houston Field office at (713) 868-2299 if they have any information regarding her whereabouts.
The investigation was conducted by police departments in Houston and Baytown alongside the Texas Financial Crimes Intel Center and Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Day is handling the prosecution of this case.