Three Romanians stole over £40,000 from 18 British pensioners

Three Romanians were sentenced by Liverpool Crown Court to prison terms totaling more than 13 years after stealing over £40,000 from the accounts of 18 British pensioners. The gang operated inside bank branches and primarily targeted elderly customers of Halifax and Lloyds.

Ionuț Matei, 40, Vasile Ciubotaru, 45, and Ramonel Mandache, 51, had clearly defined roles. One of them watched the victim enter their PIN at the ATM, while another distracted the pensioner. The third monitored the area or attempted to prevent bank employees from intervening.

After learning the PIN, the gang members drew the victim’s attention to a banknote deliberately left on the floor. When the person turned to pick it up, one of the criminals took their card from the ATM and replaced it with a similar one. The pensioners did not immediately notice the switch.

The suspects subsequently withdrew money from other ATMs and used the stolen cards to make purchases. According to the Daily Mail, 18 people were defrauded in total, and the three men were convicted of involvement in an organized crime network.