Four foreign nationals have pleaded guilty in a federal court in Rhode Island for their involvement in a scheme that compromised over 15,000 credit, debit, and Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. The scheme resulted in unauthorized bank withdrawals and retail purchases amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. This announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
The defendants admitted to using skimming devices to steal personal financial account information from debit and credit card users. These devices were placed on point-of-sale terminals at retail outlets and ATMs at various financial institutions.
The investigation revealed that between May 2023 and February 2024, the defendants compromised more than 15,000 bank cards across Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. In Rhode Island alone, over 200 debit cards were compromised at two financial institutions, leading to more than $280,000 in unauthorized ATM withdrawals from 67 customer accounts.
Robby Vicson Codreanu from the United Kingdom; Isabela Ignat Codreanu from Romania; Armando Ion Codreanu and Nicolas Longin Codreanu from Ireland have each pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit access device fraud and trafficking in counterfeit access devices. Nicolas and Armando Codreanu also pleaded guilty to accessing devices issued to another person.
Sentencing for Nicolas Codreanu is scheduled for October 14, 2025. Isabella, Armando, and Robby Codreanu will be sentenced on October 21, 2025. A federal district judge will determine the sentences based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Two additional defendants from Romania— Ionut Zamfir and Mila Ciuciu—are awaiting trial.
Assistant United States Attorney Ronald R. Gendron is prosecuting these cases. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations along with several police departments including Bristol Police Department and supported by agencies such as the United States Secret Service.
