31-year old Neculai Candet and 40-year old Madalina Balmus, both of Cleveland Street in Brooklyn, New York, were arrested by Bayonne Police on Friday, April 28th. According to Captain Eric Amato, Candet and Balmus were taken into custody at 12:29 pm from the area of Goldsborough Drive following an investigation into numerous acts of credit card fraud.
Captain Amato says on April 21 at 3:46 pm, a 30-year-old male victim reported that an unknown person used the ATM at a CVS, either at the 560 Avenue C or Goldsborough Drive store, to complete four withdrawals from his bank account totaling $560. Then on the same day at 5:04 pm, a 51-year-old male victim reported that an unknown individual utilized the ATM at a CVS located at 560 Avenue C to withdraw $200 from his bank account.
Amato goes on to say that a 58-year-old female victim also reported that on the same day, an unknown individual used the ATM at a CVS located at 560 Avenue C to withdraw $343 from her bank account.
The Bayonne Police Detective Bureau conducted an investigation which resulted in Candet and Balmus being identified as the actors in each incident. On Friday of last week, the two were apprehended in the area of CVS on Goldsborough Drive as they were observed utilizing the ATM.
Amato says as police officers approached the two suspects in order to conduct an investigation, Candet was seen tossing a bundle of Vanilla Visa gift cards, later determined to be 23 in total, into a nearby bush. The on-scene investigation led to the two being arrested. A search incident to Candet’s arrest led to the recovery of 6 receipts of withdrawal transactions from numerous banks located in numerous jurisdictions outside of Bayonne. The recovered Vanilla gift cards were also determined to be reprogrammed with actual debit card account numbers and new personal identification numbers (PIN) which were linked to the victims’ personal bank accounts. Amato reports the cards essentially were being converted into an actual debit card capable of making withdrawals at any ATM.
The suspects face numerous counts of identity theft, fraudulent use of a credit card and receiving stolen property.
