Four years for Romanian man found guilty of ATM 'skimming'

A Romanian man who was found with a "treasure trove" of ATM skimming devices has been given a four years sentence by Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Petrica Roman (age 26) told gardaí he had been previously been convicted of forgery offences in Holland.

Roman with an address at North Circular Road, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to six counts of possession of items which are used in skimming operations at his flat on April 5, 2007.

Judge Delahunt heard that Roman had arrived in Ireland two weeks before his arrest to look for work as a plasterer. She suspended the final year of his sentence on condition that he leave the jurisdiction within seven days of his release from jail.

Garda Thomas Prenderville told Dominic McGinn BL, prosecuting, that gardai found items such as false fronts which could be placed over ATMs in order to allow cards to be read when they searched Roman's flat.

Judge Delahunt noted that gardai unearthed what she described as "a treasure trove of items" including card readers and camera which could be placed in ATMs.