A gang of Romanian fraudsters have used a cruel cash machine trick to steal more than £40,000 from unsuspecting pensioners.
CCTV footage shows the brazen crooks distracting elderly victims by dropping banknotes on the floor before secretly swapping their bank cards for fake ones.
The three men travelled across Britain targeting vulnerable customers at Halifax and Lloyds Bank branches, with one victim losing a staggering £11,100 before realising they had been scammed.
Ionut Matei, 40, Vasile Ciubotaru, 45, and Ramonel Mandache, 51, have now been jailed for a combined total of more than 13 years following a nationwide crime spree lasting almost two years.
The gang's calculated trick involved one member watching a victim enter their PIN at a cash machine while another prepared to distract them.
As the unsuspecting customer finished their transaction, one of the fraudsters would deliberately drop a banknote on the floor behind them.
He would then tap the victim on the shoulder and ask whether they had dropped the money.
While the pensioner was distracted, an accomplice would swiftly swap their bank card for a similar-looking one.
The victim would then leave the bank believing they had retrieved their own card, completely unaware that their account was now at the mercy of the criminals.
Ionut Matei, 40, was jailed for five years and six months
CCTV footage shows the brazen crooks distracting elderly victims by dropping banknotes on the floor before secretly swapping their bank cards for fake ones
The three men travelled across Britain targeting vulnerable customers at Halifax and Lloyds Bank branches, with one victim losing a staggering £11,100 before realising they had been scammed
Armed with the stolen cards and PINs, the gang would make cash withdrawals and purchases, sometimes running into thousands of pounds.
Their victims, many of whom were in their 70s and 80s, were left devastated after discovering money had vanished from their accounts.
One pensioner lost £11,100 over almost two weeks before finally discovering they had fallen victim to the scam.
The fraudsters struck across Cheshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and Kent between October 2024 and August 2026.
Their activities were eventually uncovered during Operation Rages, a major Cheshire Police investigation into a nationwide theft and fraud operation.
Detectives established that the Romanian nationals had travelled extensively around the country, deliberately seeking out elderly and vulnerable customers using cash machines inside bank branches.
The investigation, which included offences in Warrington and Widnes, also uncovered how the gang had fraudulently obtained cars using fake driving licences in an attempt to conceal their identities and movements.
After extensive CCTV enquiries, officers finally tracked the three men down to Portsmouth, where they were arrested on August 18 this year.
All three refused to answer questions when interviewed by police.
They later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
Appearing at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday Matei was jailed for five years and six months.
His sentence also covered an offence of knowingly entering the UK in breach of a deportation order.
Ciubotaru, from Ilford, east London, was handed four years and eight months behind bars.
Vasile Ciubotaru, 45, from Ilford, east London, was handed four years and eight months behind bars
Ramonel Mandache, 51, from East Ham, east London, was sentenced to three years in prison
Mandache from East Ham, east London, was sentenced to three years in prison.
Detective Sergeant Stephanie Bland, the senior investigating officer for Operation Rages, said the gang had caused not only 'significant financial losses' but also a 'lasting impact' on victims' 'confidence and wellbeing'.
She said: 'This was a highly organised criminal enterprise that deliberately targeted elderly and vulnerable members of the public for financial gain.
'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.'