Two Romanian nationals are accused of quietly planting credit-card skimming devices inside multiple Jefferson Parish stores before being caught during a traffic stop in Mississippi, authorities say. Deputies report finding skimmer devices, dozens of payment cards and thousands of dollars in cash inside the vehicle, and Jefferson Parish Economic Crimes detectives working with the U.S. Secret Service say surveillance footage and court records tie the pair to a coordinated scheme to steal EBT and other card data.
The suspects, identified as 36-year-old Cosmin Vaduva and 32-year-old Elena Caldarareasa, were booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna, Sgt. Brandon Veal said. They face six counts of violating anti-skimming laws and six counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, with bail for each set at $240,000, according to NOLA.com.
Grenada County deputies say they stopped a white Toyota Highlander with a Virginia license plate on Interstate 55 north on March 12. A search of the vehicle turned up three overlay skimmers, numerous credit and gift cards, documents and more than $8,000 in cash. The pair were held in Grenada County pending extradition to Louisiana, according to WCBI.
What investigators say they did
Investigators with the Jefferson Parish Economic Crimes Unit, working alongside U.S. Secret Service agents, reviewed surveillance video and court records they say show Vaduva placing overlay skimmers on card readers while Caldarareasa distracted cashiers to shield the activity. Authorities report that skimmers linked to the pair were recovered at a convenience store on Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie, at a store in Kenner and at a small grocery just off Lapalco Boulevard in unincorporated Gretna.
Court documents state the two planned to harvest EBT data and re-encode it onto cloned cards, and federal prosecutors in Alabama later filed access-device fraud and related charges tied to the same probe, according to NOLA.com.
How investigators trace skimming rings
Law enforcement officials say the methods described in this case, including overlay skimmers, cloned magnetic-stripe data and two-person teams that distract cashiers, line up with tactics used in other prosecutions of transnational skimming crews in recent years. Prior cases in the region have shown how stolen SNAP/EBT and debit-card data can be moved and cashed out across state lines, which is one reason federal, state and local agencies often tackle these investigations together, according to earlier reporting by WDAM.
Legal status
The defendants currently face parish-level anti-skimming and conspiracy counts in Jefferson Parish along with additional federal charges connected to the investigation. Their cases remain in the early stages, with court dates still pending, and bail and extradition issues are moving through local and federal dockets as prosecutors review evidence and decide on next steps.
Officials advise shoppers who used payment cards at the listed Jefferson Parish locations in recent weeks to review account statements closely, report suspicious activity to their card issuers and consider replacing affected cards. Law enforcement and consumer-protection agencies also generally recommend opting for chip or contactless payments when possible and reporting suspected skimming devices to local police or the Jefferson Parish sheriff’s office.
