A family skimming ring across seven states, 15,000 cards compromised
Four members of an extended family, Nicolas Longin Codreanu, Armando Ion Codreanu, Isabela Ignat Codreanu and Robby Vicson Codreanu, all in their early twenties and living together in Placentia, California, pleaded guilty in mid-2025 to running a card-skimming conspiracy across seven states that compromised more than 15,000 credit, debit and EBT cards. A fifth defendant, Mila Ciuciu, also pleaded guilty; a sixth, Ionut Zamfir, remained a fugitive.
- Year
- 2025
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Convicted
- Reported loss
- $300,000
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Card skimming
- Last reviewed
- 2026-09-10
The facts, as recorded
- Homeland Security Investigations identified the group operating out of a shared residence in Placentia, California, with members holding Romanian, Irish and British citizenship.
- A federal criminal complaint was filed 14 June 2024, with initial court appearances on 9 July 2024.
- From October through December 2023, the group installed skimming devices on ATMs and self-checkout terminals in Rhode Island (Bristol, Warren, Johnston, Westerly) and Massachusetts (Avon, Raynham, Seekonk, North Attleboro, Quincy, Walpole), later extending to Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York from May 2023 through February 2024.
- More than 15,000 credit, debit and EBT cards were compromised nationally; over 200 debit cards were compromised at two Rhode Island financial institutions alone, resulting in more than $300,000 in unauthorized ATM withdrawals from 67 Rhode Island customer accounts.
- Nicolas Longin Codreanu, 23, Armando Ion Codreanu, 24, Isabela Ignat Codreanu, 24, and Robby Vicson Codreanu, 21, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, producing and trafficking counterfeit access devices, and possession of access device-making equipment; sentencing was scheduled for October 2025.
- HSI Special Agent Michael J. Krol: the equipment the group used "worked quickly and efficiently to steal credit card information."
Why this case matters
This is the largest skimming operation documented on this site by cards compromised, more than 15,000, and it shows the organisational shape the crime takes at scale: a shared residence, an extended family, and a division of labour across state lines rather than one person working alone.
One address, seven states
The group operated from a single shared residence in Placentia, California, while placing physical devices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. Nothing about installing a skimmer requires the installer to live anywhere near the machine, which is exactly what let a California-based group run a scheme that, city by city, looked like a string of unrelated local incidents until investigators connected them.
EBT cards again
As in the Alabama grocery-store case, EBT cards were among the more than 15,000 compromised, the same pattern of harm landing on benefit recipients alongside ordinary bank customers.
The caveat
Four defendants have pleaded guilty; sentencing was scheduled for October 2025 and had not been independently confirmed as of this page’s last review. A fifth defendant, Mila Ciuciu, also pleaded guilty. A sixth, Ionut Zamfir, was named as a fugitive in the charging documents and remains formally only charged, not convicted; he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Sources
- 6 Charged in Multistate ATM and Retail Skimming Conspiracy After HSI Investigation. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations. Accessed 2026-09-10. Supports: The defendants' names, ages, nationalities and shared California residence, the charges, the October–December 2023 timeline, the Rhode Island and Massachusetts locations, the near-$300,000 impact, and the Krol quote.
- 4 foreign nationals plead guilty in multi-state ATM, retail skimming scheme. WJAR / Turn to 10 (NBC 10 Rhode Island). Accessed 2026-09-10. Supports: The four guilty pleas, the 15,000-plus compromised cards nationally, the 200-plus Rhode Island cards and 67 accounts, the wider seven-state geography, the fifth and sixth co-defendants, and the October 2025 sentencing schedule.