Two arrested after thieves steal from Newton ATMs using cards that don’t require a PIN

A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of stealing thousands of dollars from ATMs in Newton through fake cards that allow withdrawls without a PIN.

Alexandru Ion-Florin, 44, and Maria Bacelan, 22, were arrested Saturday after a series of thefts at Newton’s Citizens State Bank location where a total of $22,600 was taken, said Erin McDaniel, director of communications for the city of Newton.

Ion-Florin and Bacelan were booked into Harvey County jail. They are suspected of being part of “a large-scale theft ring, and both are believed to be from Romania,” McDaniel said.

“Over the past few weeks, area police departments had received warnings from banks and other law enforcement agencies about ATM thefts in Colorado and western Kansas. The thieves were using special cards that allowed the ATMs to dispense money without the use of PIN numbers,” McDaniel said.

Both of Newton’s Citizens State Bank branches were hit multiple times on Friday. Ion-Florin and Bacelan were arrested based on surveillance video, McDaniel said. Cash and ATM cards were seized from their vehicle.

Ion-Florin and Bacelan are being held on a detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, McDaniel said, and Newton police are working with the Secret Service to learn more about how the thefts happened.

This story was originally published October 31, 2018 at 3:40 PM.