Three fraudsters who preyed on elderly and vulnerable victims at cash machines across the country have been jailed after stealing more than £40,000. The organised crime group travelled across the country targeting customers at Halifax and Lloyds Bank branches, using a distraction technique to steal their bank cards and empty their accounts.
One victim had £11,100 taken over almost two weeks before realising they had been targeted. The gang deliberately targeted elderly and vulnerable people using cash machines, with victims often unaware their cards had been swapped until the criminals had already withdrawn their money or made purchases.
Sentences handed down at Liverpool Crown Court
The three men were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, October 19, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
Ionut Matei, 40, 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. Vasile Ciubotaru, 45, of Balfour Road, Ilford, was jailed for four years and eight months, while Ramonel Mandache, 51, of Henniker Gardens, East Ham, London, received a three-year sentence.
The case was uncovered during Operation Rages, a complex investigation led by Cheshire Police into a nationwide theft and fraud operation that included offences in Warrington and Widnes. Detectives identified offences committed between October 2024 and August 2026, with more than £40,000 stolen from victims across Cheshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and Kent.
How the gang tricked their victims
The men, all Romanian nationals, used a carefully planned method to steal bank cards and obtain victims' PIN numbers. One member of the group would stand close enough to watch a victim enter their PIN at a cash machine. Another would then distract them by drawing their attention to a banknote deliberately placed on the floor nearby.
While the victim was looking away, a third member of the gang would help steal their bank card and replace it with a similar-looking one. Believing they had retrieved their own card, victims would leave the bank unaware they had been targeted. The criminals would then use the stolen cards and PINs to withdraw cash and make purchases, often before their victims realised anything was wrong.
In one particularly shocking case, a victim lost £11,100 over a period of almost two weeks. Other victims, many in their 70s and 80s, also suffered significant financial losses. Police also discovered that the defendants had been fraudulently obtaining cars using false driving licences in an attempt to disguise their identities and movements.
Gang arrested after CCTV investigation
Following extensive CCTV enquiries, Cheshire Police officers tracked down and arrested all three men in Portsmouth on August 18, 2026. The investigation uncovered a string of offences at bank branches across the country, including in Widnes and Warrington.
Among the incidents identified by detectives were the theft of £3,100 from a victim at Lloyds Bank in Widnes on July 15, 2026, and £3,990 stolen at Lloyds Bank in Warrington the following day. Other victims lost thousands of pounds in individual incidents, including £5,357 in Beeston and £4,751 in Mansfield, both in Nottinghamshire. In another incident in Bury, £11,100 was stolen on July 3, 2026.
Detective Sergeant Stephanie Bland, senior investigating officer for Operation Rages, said: “This was a highly organised criminal enterprise that deliberately targeted elderly and vulnerable members of the public for financial gain. While many victims suffered significant financial losses, the lasting impact on their confidence and wellbeing cannot be underestimated. 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.”
