St. Louis, Missouri – In a brazen display of credit card fraud, two foreign nationals were arrested and charged with using counterfeit cards at an ATM in South St. Louis County.
Mrejuica Madalin, 30, and Laszlo Solomes, 31, were taken into custody on Tuesday, August 28, 2018 by the St. Louis County Police.
The pair was observed using a succession of different cards at an ATM in the 4300 block of Telegraph Road in South St. Louis County. Responding to a citizen complaint, the St. Louis County Police stopped their vehicle and discovered a large quantity of cash, stolen mail and financial documents in the name of a third party.
Further investigation revealed a large cache of counterfeit gift cards and stored value cards, a laptop computer and a card encoding machine in their hotel room. The United States Attorney’s Office has sought detention of Madalin and Solomes as it appears neither is legally in the United States.
Madalin was traveling under a counterfeit Belgian passport in the name of another. Solomes was in possession of a valid Hungarian passport but appears not to hold a valid visa to be in the United States.
Both men appeared in federal court on a criminal complaint charging them with possession of 15 or more counterfeit access devices in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 1029(a)(3). The charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, a maximum fine of $250,000 or both.
The case was investigated by the St. Louis Office of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Bureau of the Department of Homeland Security. Tom Albus is handling the case for the United States Attorney’s Office.
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
