FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) -- A credit card skimmer has been convicted of six low class felonies and faces up to 18 years in prison along with 18 years of extended supervision.
A press release from from district attorney Eric Toney on October 25th includes the official police report and charges against Catialin Capanu, age 37.
From the official police report, a call came in June of 2018 to the Fond du Lac Police stating there were two people acting suspicious in a vehicle at Marine Credit Union. After an officer arrived on the scene and attempted to pull the vehicle over, a short chase ensued before the people in the vehicle ran off, according to the report.
The report states that after the threat of a K9, Capanu was was subdued and cuffed while the second man, Mihai-Alexandru Preda age 27, was also arrested and put into custody. The caller was able to successfully identify both men as the original suspicious suspects.
Investigators found 137 debit cards in the vehicle, the report states. Some of the cards were reported as counterfeit, others were apparently created without the issuer's consent.
“This defendant’s actions were part of a sophisticated international criminal enterprise with ties to Romania," Toney stated in the release. "This criminal enterprise significantly disrupted the financial wellbeing of citizens and banks throughout the state and Fond du Lac County. I hope this sentence serves as a deterrent to others that may seek to come to the United States to participate in these criminal enterprises."
Initially charged with 47 counts of felonies, Capanu was convicted of only six. No additional information was given on Preda from the press release.
