Romanian Man Sentenced for Role in International Fraud Scheme; selling $320,000 worth of cars on the internet  A Romanian man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for his role in receiving and sending overseas approximately $320,000 in illicit proceeds derived from an international fraud scheme involving online marketplace websites. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David Rivera of the Middle District of Tennessee made the announcement. U.S. District Judge Aleta A. Trauger of the Middle District of Tennessee imposed the sentence. Alexandru Stanciu, 36, of Bucharest, Romania, was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2013 and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud in February 2014. In addition to his prison term, Stanciu was ordered to pay $305,106 in restitution. According to statements at his plea hearing, Stanciu’s co-conspirators fraudulently listed vehicles for sale at online marketplaces such as eBay. When victims expressed interest in purchasing the vehicles, co-conspirators responded with emails directing the victims to wire payments to specified bank accounts. These bank accounts were opened by Stanciu, using false identities and fraudulent documents, including counterfeit passports, between December 2011 and July 2013. In total, 17 victims sent approximately $321,389 to accounts opened by Stanciu. Stanciu subsequently sent the bulk of the money to co-conspirators located overseas. (Source imperialvalleynews.com)

All The Gear You Need For ATM Skimming
The arrest of two men in a TD Bank ATM area in Brooklyn early Wednesday morning led to the discovery of a robust ATM skimming operation involving cooperation from China. According to the NYPD, officers spotted two men tampering with an ATM around 1:30 a.m. yesterday at the TD Bank on 630 Shore Parkway in Bath Beach. After observing them allegedly using tools to remove parts from the ATM, cops arrested the men and took them to the precinct for questioning. Police have identified the suspects as Elvin Pineda, 25, and Luis Fernandez, 28. At the police station, they were interrogated by an officer with the Financial Crimes Task Force, who determined that they were removing ATM parts "and shipping them to China to be duplicated and used to accommodate skimming devices." Pineda also revealed that he "had additional materials at his residence commonly used for skimming." Officers obtained a search warrant and tossed his apartment; here is what they found: 2 embossers, 2 re-encoders, laminator , 2 color printers, tipper machine, 6 laptops, HP Computer, CD Writer, 7 flash drives, an iPad, A high definition printer, 2 signature pads. In addition, the search turned up 127 blank Capital One credit cards, 76 blank American Express cards, 338 blank Citibank Cards, 200 blank credit cards and 41 forged New York and out of state driver's licenses. (Source gothamist.com)

3 Californians accused of $13,000 spending spree on counterfeit credit cards arrested in Beaverton, OR  Three Californians were arrested in Beaverton on suspicion of racking up at least $13,000 on counterfeit credit cards during a spending spree at Oregon businesses. The trio left Sacramento Friday in a rented Chevy Impala, traveled along Interstate 5 and crossed into Oregon Saturday. They hit Home Depot, Best Buy, Macy's and Rent-A-Center stores, among others, buying laptops, gift cards, clothing and other items until they were arrested on Tuesday. Police discovered more than 20 credit cards that contained a group member's name, but had credit information that belonged to other people. Authorities also found evidence of other credit cards cut into pieces. Beaverton police detectives learned Monday that Paulo Cuevas, 23 used a counterfeit credit card to buy $1,295 in items from a Home Depot in Tigard, then used the same card for a $1,099 purchase from a Nordstrom at Tigard's Washington Square. He also tried to use the card at a Nordstrom Rack in Beaverton. The card had Cuevas' name on it, but the information on the card belonged to a woman from Minnesota. Police later discovered that $3,037 had also been charged to the card at a Home Depot in Oregon City. (Source oregonlive.com)

Clarksville, TN shoplifter hits Sears Loss Prevention agent with her car
A Clarksville woman allegedly hit an officer with her car while trying to flee the mall with stolen merchandise. Quanesia Hoskins entered Sears in the Governors Square Mall Monday with two other female subjects, according to reports. Using a large bag, Hoskins allegedly stuffed merchandise from the kids, mens and juniors departments as well as the sales floor before walking out of the store. According to reports, the unpaid merchandise amounted to $2,137.29. In her attempted escape, Hoskins allegedly yelled vulgar remarks to the loss preventions officer before striking the officer in his leg with her car. Hoskins then hit one of the officer’s vehicles as she fled the scene of the crime, according to reports. The officers were able to record the car’s tag number before she fled. (Source theleafchronicle.com)

Women steal $1,500 worth of Michael Kors purses from Marshalls in Cordova, TN  Two women are on the run with $1,500 worth of stolen purses. Marshalls in Cordova wasn’t open for more than an hour-and-a-half Thursday when police said two women started grabbing as many purses as they could and bolted. Police said their getaway ride parked out front was a gold Infiniti with Florida tags. The female duo took $1,500 worth of Michael Kors handbags. Police first told WREG in an email, “video of the incident will be available upon request.” (Source wreg.com)

Over $1,000 in Michael Kors purses stolen from TJ Maxx in Murfreesboro, TN
It took two subjects less than 15-minutes to steal 24 designer purses from TJ Maxx on Old Fort Parkway in Murfreesboro. A loss prevention worker reported the theft on Wednesday. The female walked out with four Michael Kors purses. The second thief, a man, evidently left the store with a trash bag filled with 20 purses of various styles and prices, but all Michael Kors brand. (Source wgnsradio.com)

Chicago woman charged in Victoria's Secret bra theft worth $1,300 in Peru, IL
A Chicago woman is charged with felony retail theft of $1,317.50 in merchandise, 24 bras from Victoria’s Secret, Peru Mall. And Latasha L. Childs, 29, is a person of interest in four other retail thefts from July 12 to Sept. 4 at the Peru lingerie shop in which roughly $7,700 in goods were stolen, said Doug Bernabei, Peru police chief. In the most recent incident Thursday night, Peru police officers responded to a 911 call at 7:34 p.m. Officers found Childs near a restroom in the theater and arrested her, Bernabei said. Where was the loot? Officers searched the mall and inside a trash can found a Nike bag containing 24 bras. (Source newstrib.com)



Woman Caught On- Camera Stealing Hundreds of Dollars of Clothes From Long-Island Store  Security cameras at The Island, a Lilly Pulitzer clothing store in Garden City, Long Island, caught a woman stuffing item after item into her large handbag. Store owner Carol Mangels estimates the woman shoplifted $800 to $900 worth of merchandise. (Source cbslocal.com)

Great Falls, MT Woman confesses to Walmart theft after photos circulated

Two Home Depot thieves charged in Waukegan, IL

Shoplifters steal $540 in video games from Target in Rock Hill, SC