Suspect pleads guilty in credit card skimmer scam set up in grocery stores

One of two men charged last summer in a multicounty fraud scheme that employed skimmer devices on grocery store card readers pleaded guilty Tuesday in Westmoreland County.

Thomas Fuchs, 34, whose last address was listed as in Pittsburgh, was ordered to serve one to two years in prison for his role in an identity theft scam that police said was conducted at numerous locations in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties.

According to authorities, Fuchs placed devices at checkout counters at a Community Market store in Lower Burrell in June and another at the Shop n’ Save store in North Huntingdon about a week later in early July. The devices replicate credit card readers used by customers to pay for goods, police said. Store officials told police the devices could have been in place for several days before they were discovered.

Police said they tracked down Fuchs and an accomplice through surveillance cameras that recorded their images and license plate readers throughout the region, which tracked movements of their rented vehicle.

Initially identified in court documents as “John Doe #2,” Fuchs was eventually identified as the man who entered the markets to install the devices that record and steal customer credit card information. Police said he and an accomplice both presented what appeared to be false identification cards from Austria when confronted by investigators.

Investigators have pursued similar cases throughout the country, including a wave of cases last year in California and multiple arrests of suspects who federal authorities said were connected to organized crime in Romania.

Fuchs pleaded guilty to four charges, including three related to the skimmer devices, and one count of conspiracy in both Westmoreland County cases as part of a deal with prosecutors. One theft count in each case was dismissed.

Fuchs was given credit for time served in jail since his arrest in July.

Charges in connection with two additional cases are pending in Alle­gheny County, according to court records.

Second suspect, other cases

The man police said worked as his accomplice, 39-year-old Alexandru Dumitrascu, remains jailed in lieu of a $100,000 bond in connection with identity theft and other charges filed in the North Huntingdon case.

According to court records, Dumitrascu confessed that he is a Romanian immigrant who entered the country through Tijuana, Mexico, this year and traveled to San Diego, where he was processed and ordered to report in 2025 for an immigration hearing.

Dumitrascu claimed he spent just four hours in San Diego before he boarded a flight to New York, where he met Fuchs through another man. He said Fuchs paid him $500 to serve as his driver and covered costs associated with the rental of vehicles and hotel rooms.

He also told police other people were involved in retrieving data stolen from the skimmer devices and that he wanted to return to his wife and children in Romania.

In addition to the one pending case in Westmoreland County, Dumitrascu is awaiting trial on charges related to similar cases cases in Scott, Plum and North Versailles. His defense attorney, Casey White, said Dumitrascu is seeking an expedited hearing to resolve his cases.

“We want to come to an amicable resolution so my client can put these matters behind him and return to his family,” White said.