Catalin Puscasu, 38, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Puscasu is the third defendant to have pleaded guilty for his role in this scheme.
Between December 2018 and March 2019, Puscasu and others worked together to obtain personal identifying information and then used that data to make unauthorized cash withdrawals from the accounts of these victims and/or use the victims’ credit for their personal gain, according to court records.
The scammers encoded that stolen information onto blank debit cards and then used them to withdraw money.
In March 2019, police arrested Puscasu in Michigan for committing similar offenses.
After serving 36 months in federal custody for those crimes, he was returned to the Western District of Virginia to face charges related to incidents in that area. Pursuant to the terms of his plea agreement, Puscasu will serve an additional 18 to 37 months in prison and must pay restitution to the victims.