Romanian Pleads Guilty In US Phishing Case

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Eighteen months after being indicted by a federal court, one of a group of seven Romanian citizens pleaded guilty to involvement with phishing bank details from people.

Ovidiu-Ionut Nicola-Roman admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in connection with access devices in US District Court in Connecticut, the US Attorney's Office for the state said.

Nicola-Roman and six other Romanians had been indicted in January 2007 for their roles in a phishing scheme that sought banking information from victims. The group compromised a computer in Minnesota and published a fake site for Connecticut-based People's Bank.

The group also took on numerous other financial targets. Those institutions included Citibank, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Comerica Bank, Wells Fargo & Co., eBay and PayPal.

One unnamed bank claimed losses of $150,000 from the phishing scheme. Nicola-Roman faces up to five years and a $250,000 fine for his role in the program.

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