Another Skimmer Case!!

Yet another story about a server who was skimming cards and using a card re-encoder to create fraudulent cards with the skimmed information!.

CLEARWATER – A restaurant worker was arrested June 23 for alleged identity theft and credit card fraud, according to a Clearwater Police report.

Mircea Ciornei, 31, of Land O’Lakes was a server at the Tuscano Grille on McMullen-Booth Road, and while working, he obtained several credit card numbers from customers, the report said. He then allegedly fraudulently used the credit card numbers by re-encoding the card numbers on various gift cards, the report said. The suspect then proceeded to make purchases throughout the Tampa Bay area using the gift cards with the stolen credit card numbers, the report said.

Clearwater Police Economic Crimes Detectives identified the suspect and developed probable cause for his arrest. Clearwater police officers stopped the suspect in his vehicle as he left work. The suspect allegedly presented false identification, as his license was revoked, and he was then arrested and taken into custody.

Ciornei was charged with four counts of identity theft, scheme to defraud, criminal use of personal identification, three counts of forgery of a credit card, driving while license is suspended or revoked, providing false identification to law enforcement, and unlawful use of a license. More charges are pending. He was released from the Pinellas County Jail on a $20,650 bond.