Romanian gang uses cruel cash machine trick to steal £40k from pensioners

A Romanian gang targeted unsuspecting pensioners across the country, including victims in South Yorkshire, with a cruel cash machine trick to steal over £40,000.

Shocking CCTV shows Ionut Matei, aged 40, Vasile Ciubotaru, 45, Ramonel Mandache, 51, performing the sneaky scam which saw them target vulnerable people inside Halifax and Lloyds Bank branches.

In the video it revealed how one of the thugs would drop a banknote on the floor behind a vulnerable victim.

The same person would then tap them on the shoulder to ask the person if they dropped the money on the floor.

While the victim was distracted, another thug - who had memorised the victim's card number - would brazenly swap the bank cards out with a similar-looking one before fleeing.

The victim was unaware they were targeted after they retrieved their own card from the cash machine, police said.

The offenders then used the stolen card and PIN to make cash withdrawals and purchases sometimes in excess of thousands of pounds.

On Monday, October 19, the scammers were sentenced to a combined total of more than 13 years at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

Matei, of no fixed abode, was jailed for five years and six months - he was also sentenced for knowingly entering the UK in breach of a deportation order.

Ciubotaru, of Balfour Road, Ilford, was sentenced to four years and eight months and Mandache of Henniker Gardens, East Ham, London, received three years.

Detective Sergeant Stephanie Bland, of Cheshire Constabulary and Senior Investigating Officer for Operation Rages, said alongside the "significant financial losses" the gang's actions had a "lasting impact" on the victims' "confidence and wellbeing".

The gang committed the offences between October 2024 and August 2026.

More than £40,000 was stolen from victims across Cheshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and Kent.

The gang's actions were investigated as part of Operation Rages by Cheshire Police into a nationwide theft and fraud operation, including offences in Warrington and Widnes.

Detectives established that the offenders - all Romanian nationals - would travel across the country, specifically targeting elderly and vulnerable victims using cash machines inside the Halifax and Lloyds Bank branches.

The most affected victim lost £11,100 over a period of almost two weeks before discovering they had become the victim of fraud.

Other victims, many in their 70s and 80s, also lost significant sums of money.

Police enquiries also revealed that the defendants were fraudulently obtaining cars using false driving licences in an attempt to disguise their identities and movements.

On August 18, 2026, Cheshire Police officers arrested the three defendants in Portsmouth following extensive CCTV enquiries which had identified them.

Each made no comment on arrest.

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Det Sgt Bland also said: "This was a highly organised criminal enterprise that deliberately targeted elderly and vulnerable members of the public for financial gain.

"Operation Rages was a complex investigation spanning multiple force areas but in policing there are no borders.

"And even though a majority of these offences occurred outside of Cheshire, our officers were determined to identify those responsible for these crimes, bring them before the courts, and provide reassurance to victims and the wider public.

"We are determined to make Cheshire a hostile environment for criminals.

"We will continue to disrupt serious and organised crime, protect our communities, and ensure offenders face justice.”

The offences included:

• 10 October 2024, Halifax, Widnes. £950 was stolen from the victim’s account following this incident.
• 8 November 2024, Lloyds Bank, Newcastle-under-Lyme - £800 stolen.
• 8 November 2024, Halifax, Leek - £300 stolen.
• 20 January 2026, Halifax, Arnold, Nottinghamshire - £4,163 stolen.
• 5 March 2026, Halifax, Arnold, Nottinghamshire - £800 stolen.
• 5 March 2026, Halifax, Arnold, Nottinghamshire - £700 stolen.
• 21 May 2026, Halifax, Beeston, Nottinghamshire - £5,357 stolen.
• 21 May 2026, Halifax, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire - £4,751 stolen.
• 5 June 2026, Halifax, Stockport - £800 stolen.
• 2 July 2026, Halifax, Mexborough, Doncaster - £800 stolen.
• 3 July 2026, Halifax, Bury, Manchester - £11,100 stolen.
• 14 July 2026, Lloyds Bank, Cannock, Staffordshire - Nothing was stolen.
• 15 July 2026, Lloyds Bank, Widnes - £3,100 stolen.
• 15 July 2026, Lloyds Bank, Newcastle-under-Lyme - £400 stolen.
• 16 July 2026, Lloyds Bank, Warrington - £3,990 stolen.
• 5 August 2026, Halifax, Mexborough, Doncaster - £700 stolen.
• 5 August 2026, Halifax, Mexborough, Doncaster - £750 stolen.
• 17 August 2026, Lloyds Bank, Chatham, Kent - £800.