North Huntingdon police accuse 2 of using credit card skimmer
Two men already accused of stealing customers’ credit card information using a skimmer device at supermarkets in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, are also accused of using a device to steal the identity of customers at a North Huntingdon supermarket, according to township police.
Thomas Fuchs, 34, of Pittsburgh and Alexandru Dumitrascu, 39, address unknown, are accused of using a credit card skimmer to steal identifying information from customers at the Shop ‘n Save store at 12120 Route 30, according to North Huntingdon police.
With the credit card information, a person also could steal money from a customer’s bank accounts, illegally use it for purchases and clone the credit card, police said.
The credit card skimmer was found in a register on July 4, four days after the North Huntingdon supermarket business manager said he hadn’t found any such device in a previous check.
The two suspects, however, allegedly were seen on video surveillance of the store on June 28, police said. Police learned they were in North Huntingdon on June 28 because their license plate was captured on a license plate reader that matched the license plate on a vehicle they drove at a Scott Township supermarket, according to court papers.
The pair face similar charges after a similar incident at supermarkets in Plum and Scott Township. Dumitrascu also is charged in a similar incident in North Versailles.
Fuchs waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday before North Huntingdon District Judge Henry Moore on felony counts of theft and conspiracy in identity theft, moving encoded information from one electronic device to another, using a device to record or obtain encoded information from a device and a misdemeanor count of possessing instruments of crime. Fuchs remains an inmate in Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh.
Dumitrascu, also an Allegheny County Jail inmate, was arraigned before Moore on Friday on the same charges as Fuchs in the North Huntingdon incident. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 23.
Joe Napsha is a TribLive reporter covering Irwin, North Huntingdon and the Norwin School District. He also writes about business issues. He grew up on Neville Island and has worked at the Trib since the early 1980s. He can be reached at jnapsha@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.