Courts / Dublin / Report

Gang members jailed over 'sophisticated international fraud'

Date
2021-02-03

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Temple Bar

County
Dublin

Summary

Two Romanian‑origin gang members were sentenced in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for creating and using fake credit cards. Daniel Almajanu, 35, fabricated 65 counterfeit cards with a card reader/writer machine and supplied them to Albert Gimy Linul, 29, who used the cards to purchase and resell cartons of cigarettes in Dublin shops. The fraud stemmed from a "deep insert skimmer" operation in the UK that captured HSBC customer details. Linul pleaded guilty to 60 fraudulent cards, eight card‑use offences, ten thefts and two attempted thefts, while Almajanu pleaded guilty to 53 cards, 65 card‑making offences and possession of a specialised laptop. Linul received a three‑year term and Almajanu a four‑year, four‑month term, both back‑dated to their custody dates. The judge described the case as an offshoot of a sophisticated international fraud scheme.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Gang members jailed over 'sophisticated international fraud'. Charges or matters: three counts of possessing a total of 60 fraudulent bank cards at various locations in Dublin between February 13 and February 14 this year; eight counts of using a fake HSBC bank card at a number of Dublin shops, ten counts of theft and two counts of attempted theft from HSBC on dates between November 1, 2019 and February 4, 2020; two counts of having custody of 53 fake bank cards and one count of making 65 fake bank cards at various locations in Dublin between January 1 and February 13 this year; one count of possessing a laptop specifically designed to make false cards. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

February 13 Incident
February 14 Incident
November 1, 2019 Other
February 4, 2020 Other
January 1 Incident
2021-02-03 Publication

Case subjects

Albert Gimy Linul

Defendant

Charges: three counts of possessing a total of 60 fraudulent bank cards at various locations in Dublin between February 13 and February 14 this year; eight counts of using a fake HSBC bank card at a number of Dublin shops, ten counts of theft and two counts of attempted theft from HSBC on dates between November 1, 2019 and February 4, 2020; two counts of having custody of 53 fake bank cards and one count of making 65 fake bank cards at various locations in Dublin between January 1 and February 13 this year; one count of possessing a laptop specifically designed to make false cards (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: She sentenced Linul to three years imprisonment and sentenced Almajanu to four years and four months imprisonment.

Daniel Almajanu

Defendant

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: She sentenced Linul to three years imprisonment and sentenced Almajanu to four years and four months imprisonment.