Rancu Ionut, Bank Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft, Tennessee 2019

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — A pair of Romanian nationals orchestrated a brazen ATM fraud spree across East Tennessee, using counterfeit access devices to siphon cash from unsuspecting victims’ bank accounts before being caught red-handed in July 2019. Rancu Ionut, a/k/a Ambroz Bojan, 35, and Andrei Razvan Pusculau, a/k/a Victor Frana, 30, were sentenced on August 7, 2020, by United States District Judge Clifton L. Corker in the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville.

Both men pleaded guilty earlier in 2020 to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Pusculau was handed a 45-month prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release. Ionut received a 42-month sentence, also followed by three years of supervised release. The court ordered both to pay $5,700 in restitution to victim banks and forfeit $8,234.74 seized at the time of their arrest.

Their crime spree began in June 2019, when Pusculau rented a vehicle in Atlanta and drove with Ionut to multiple locations in East Tennessee. The duo obscured the rental’s license plate to avoid detection, embarking on a calculated mission to drain bank accounts using 150 counterfeit magnetic-striped cards linked to real consumer accounts at financial institutions nationwide.

On July 5, 2019, their luck ran out in Bristol. A local police officer spotted the two attempting cash withdrawals at ATMs and detained them. Both men gave false names; Pusculau produced a fake ID. When officers searched the rental, they found a hidden compartment stuffed with the counterfeit access devices and $8,234.74 in U.S. currency — money the pair later admitted was stolen.

The Secret Service and Bristol Tennessee Police Department launched a joint investigation that unraveled the transnational fraud ring. The counterfeit cards were tied to accounts across the country, exposing the scale of the operation. Authorities believe the scheme could have netted far more had it not been intercepted.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mac D. Heavener, III prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States. The convictions underscore the growing threat of international actors exploiting domestic financial systems — and the federal crackdown targeting those who turn ATMs into cash machines for crime.

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