Skimmer scheme suspect pleads guilty, reveals real name in court
by BRIAN CRANDALL, NBC 10 NEWS
Stefano Garioli is the name he was using.
Though investigators weren’t sure of his real identity when they charged him in an ATM skimmer operation that hit banks in multiple Rhode Island communities earlier this year.
On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy and revealed his real name in court.
Facing up to 30 years in prison, the plea deal with federal prosecutors would have him serve less than three.
Wearing jail khakis, he and his lawyer said he’s Dumitru Bogdan Pancu of Romania.
He remains behind bars as he now awaits a sentencing hearing scheduled for March.
Authorities claimed he and a man going by the name Mario DeMarco inserted skimming devices on ATMs in Warwick, East Greenwich, and North Kingstown to capture data off customers’ cards, and were then able to fraudulently withdraw at least $8000 from customer accounts, though they allegedly tried to take a lot more.
Federal prosecutors claim security camera photos catch the two in the act.
Court documents also linked the pair, who have multiple aliases, to skimmers found in other Rhode Island communities and in other northeast states over the past couple of years.
Police first got on the case after a bank manager at Coastal1 Credit Union on Post Road in Warwick spotted suspicious activity while reviewing security video in July.
A federal affidavit includes this image of two men accused in an ATM skimming scheme. (Federal affidavit)
The two suspects were initially arrested days later at an ATM in Cranston.
At DeMarco’s initial appearance in federal court last month, the prosecutor told the judge that his real name is believed to be Marius Lupu, also likely from Romania.
He is also locked up, with a court hearing scheduled for January as his case continues.