Ciprian Amariutei, Device Making Equipment and Aggravated Identity Theft, Nebraska 2024

A pair of Romanian nationals have been sentenced for their roles in a string of identity theft and device making equipment crimes in Omaha, Nebraska.

The victims of this crime were customers of ATMs in the Omaha area who had their bank information stolen and used to create phony debit and ATM cards.

According to authorities, on April 2023, surveillance video captured Ciprian Amariutei, accompanied by Mona Maria Tataru, placing a skimming device and pinhole camera on an ATM in Omaha. Surveillance footage showed the pair’s actions were part of a larger scheme to steal thousands of dollars from unsuspecting victims.

Omaha police officers found the vehicle shown in the video and contacted Amariutei and Tataru at a local motel. Officers located in Amariutei’s and Tataru’s possession more skimming devices and cameras, equipment to generate phony debit and ATM cards, and several cards that had been encoded with stolen bank account information that enabled them to be used as ATM cards. In total, officers located approximately 220 sets of bank account information corresponding to accounts at more than a dozen different banks.

Ciprian Amariutei, a 37-year-old Romanian citizen whose address is unknown, was sentenced on August 23, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for possession of device making equipment with intent to defraud and aggravated identity theft. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Amariutei to 16 months in prison for possession of device making equipment with intent to defraud and a consecutive 24 months in prison for aggravated identity theft. There is no parole in the federal system. After Amariutei’s release from prison, he will begin a 2-year term of supervised release.

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security and the Omaha Police Department.

The crimes were punishable under federal law, including 18 U.S.C. § 1029 (aggravated identity theft) and 18 U.S.C. § 1029(a)(3) (device making equipment with intent to defraud).

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