2 men accused of skimming debit card info, stealing $175K

Syracuse, N.Y. — Two Romanian men have been accused of stealing debit card information and using it to withdraw about $175,000 from the card owners’ accounts.
The men, Radu-Lucian Grigoras and Gheorghe Nistor, placed so-called “skimming” devices on ATMs to steal information off cards as they were inserted, according to federal prosecutors from the Northern District of New York. Tiny cameras were used to capture the card owner typing in their PIN, they said.
Grigoras, 45, and Nistor, 42, allegedly ran the scheme from April to August, prosecutors said. They tapped ATMs in Onondaga County, as well as in Kansas, Missouri and Pennsylvania.
The two men were indicted on one charge each of financial institution fraud and aggravated identity theft. They appeared in court last week and pleaded not guilty.
Trials for the two men are scheduled to begin Dec. 30 in Utica, records show.
Staff writer Jon Moss covers breaking news, crime and public safety. He can be reached at [email protected] or @mossjon7.