A Romanian national has been sentenced for her role in a wire fraud scheme targeting Mississippi retailers.
Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced that Loredana Gianina Sava will spend six months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, on one count of wire fraud. A judge also ordered her to pay $6,500 in restitution to retailers affected by the scheme. Sava entered the country illegally and will be subject to deportation upon release.
The investigation, led by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service, found Sava on surveillance video tricking cashiers by conducting wire transfers while employing sleight-of-hand techniques that allowed her to obtain more money than the original bill. Authorities said the investigation uncovered over 300 incidents of fraud across the eastern United States.
Sava’s case is the latest in a string of international fraud and cybercrime prosecutions connected to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Cyber Fraud Task Force. Earlier cases included Romanian nationals sentenced for installing card-skimming devices on retail point-of-sale machines.
In April, two Romanians were sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after card skimmers were installed at Mississippi stores captured bank card data and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which were then used in other states. They were arrested following reports of skimming devices and a multi-agency investigation that spanned Mississippi, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Another Romanian national was sentenced in that skimming investigation for using overlay devices on card readers to steal payment information.
“I am proud of the work our Cyber Fraud Task Force did to attain justice for the retailers who were victims of this crime. Financial schemes like this undermine Mississippi businesses and hardworking individuals,” Fitch said. “Thank you to our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for helping us hold this perpetrator accountable.”