Three Romanian nationals tied to an Oklahoma City-area ATM skimming operation are headed to federal prison after authorities said their devices helped steal nearly $200,000 from victims nationwide. The scheme relied on hidden hardware that quietly harvested debit-card data and PINs while customers thought they were making ordinary cash withdrawals.
According to KOKH News, Sebastian Bulacu, 37, Florin Radu, 42, and Valentin Alexandru, 36, traveled through the Oklahoma City area in January 2025 to install skimming devices on ATMs. Officials said the operation caused $193,598 in losses to unsuspecting victims across the country, including Oklahoma.
How The ATM Trap Works
The devices are designed to capture information from debit cards and record the PIN numbers customers enter, giving criminals the pieces needed to reach bank accounts. In a separate Oklahoma case, the U.S. Department of Justice described skimmers hidden inside ATM card readers paired with tiny cameras that filmed customers typing their PINs.
The broader backdrop in Oklahoma is a recent run of card-skimming investigations. In October 2024, Oklahoma Human Services said law enforcement had removed nine skimmers from convenience stores and grocery stores in the Oklahoma City metro, with additional devices found in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City areas, Blanchard and Enid.
That agency said it typically received fewer than 200 monthly requests to replace benefits lost to skimming, cloning or phishing, but nearly 10,000 requests arrived during the month covered by its warning. The issue has also reached gas pumps: the Oklahoma attorney general said a 2023 central Oklahoma investigation found skimmers at stations in Oklahoma City, Choctaw, Newcastle, El Reno and Seminole County.
Federal Prison And Full Restitution
Bulacu and Radu were each sentenced to 51 months in federal prison, while Alexandru received 41 months, KOKH News reported. All three pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and each was ordered to pay $193,598 in restitution.
For people who may have used a compromised ATM, the Federal Trade Commission advises monitoring account activity and reporting unfamiliar withdrawals to the bank or credit union immediately. Federal protections can depend on how quickly unauthorized transactions are reported, so a suspicious withdrawal is a problem to flag right away—not something to leave buried in a monthly statement.
