Three jailed over £40,000 cash machine fraud

Three men were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in a cash-machine fraud that Cheshire Police said took more than £40,000 from victims across six counties. Ionut Matei, 40, was jailed for five years and six months; Vasile Ciubotaru, 45, received four years and eight months; and Ramonel Mandache, 51, was sentenced to three years. Matei was also sentenced for knowingly entering the UK in breach of a deportation order. The offences took place between October 2024 and August 2026, according to Cheshire Police, which led the investigation under Operation Rages. The force said the men targeted elderly and vulnerable customers using cash machines at Halifax and Lloyds Bank branches in Cheshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire and Kent. Police said one offender watched a customer enter a PIN while another drew their attention to a banknote placed on the ground. As the customer was distracted, a third person swapped the bank card for a similar-looking one. Victims often left believing they had retrieved their own card, police said. The stolen cards...