Man sentenced to three and a half years in prison after using skimmed credit cards

A man who police said used a card skimming device at ATMs in Hiawatha has been sentenced to over three years in federal prison, according to prosecutors.

Romica Martuica, 21, pleaded guilty to charges of illegal transactions with an access device and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to 42 months in prison and ordered to pay $8,685 in restitution to the victims of his crime.

On February 16, 2019,

after pulling away from an ATM at the University of Iowa Community Credit Union branch on Blairs Ferry Road. The ATM at the location had flagged potentially fraudulent activity, leading to the investigation.

Prosecutors said that Martuica and two unnamed individuals who were with him were in possession of over 90 counterfeit payment cards which had been fabricated using information lifted from cards using a card skimmer. He had spent over an hour at the ATM using the cards more than 70 times, successfully withdrawing $8,685.

Prosecutors also said that Martuica had entered the country illegally from Romania in 2016.

Martuica will be required to serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term. There is no possibility of parole for federal inmates.