NORFOLK, Va. – A brazen card skimming scheme has been brought to an end with the sentencing of a Romanian national to one year and six months in prison.
Cristian Romica Ristea, 52, stole credit and debit card information across the East Coast of the United States from September 2022 through August 2023. Ristea installed and maintained portable card reading devices, known as “skimmers,” in ATMs and installed pin hole cameras to obtain PIN numbers.
On Aug. 17, 2023, law enforcement officers observed Ristea conduct an illegal transaction at a Bank of America ATM in Chesapeake. Afterward, the officers arrested Ristea and conducted a search of his vehicle, in which they found 36 Vanilla Visa cards, skimming tools, a skimming device, and an international driver license in the name of “Christan Weber.”
Law enforcement then searched the home Ristea was renting and found additional skimming tools and skimming devices. Ristea possessed 91 vanilla gift cards that were encoded with stolen information. One financial institution estimated that 289 card numbers were compromised.
The defendant, Cristian Romica Ristea, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jamar K. Walker. U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber and Kang Lee, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Norfolk Resident Office, made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Heck prosecuted the case. The investigation was led by the U.S. Secret Service’s Norfolk Resident Office.
Ristea was charged with bank fraud. The defendant was sentenced to one year and six months in prison.
The case is 2:23-cr-142. A copy of the press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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