Man who stole £40,000 from over 500 cash machines across UK jailed and to be deported

Florin Ivascu, 40, formerly of Hunters Square, Dagenham, travelled across the country targeting ATMs in an organised scheme that left over £60,000 worth of damage.

His co-conspirator, Andrei Matei, previously of Atherstone Avenue, Crumpsall, Manchester, was jailed in February for two years and three months after admitting theft and criminal damage to 483 machines.

Ivascu admitted the same charges, along with a further 62 offences relating to ATM thefts in Merseyside, bringing his total to 545 counts.

The pair used a specially-adapted tool to jam open cash dispensers.

During the operation Ivascu stole the money while Matei kept lookout to shield the activity from public view.

The Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU) began investigating following a spate of ATM attacks in West Yorkshire.

They then linked the incidents to similar thefts across the country.

Officers from the YHROCU’s Proactive Economic Crime Team examined CCTV footage from hundreds of sites and identified the two men as suspects in multiple force areas.

They were arrested in Nottinghamshire in 2023 and later charged.

Ivascu was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday (May 8), where a judge also ordered the Romanian national’s deportation following his prison term.

Speaking after the sentencing, economic crime investigator Neil Bottomley of the YHROCU’s Proactive Economic Crime Team said: “We received reports of a number of incidents where two men were targeting cash points in Yorkshire, but it soon became very clear while we were piecing together their activities that they were active on a nationwide scale.

“The pair were committing thefts from ATMs across most of the country and leaving a trail of damage to the machines behind them. Several other forces assisted us as part of this investigation.

“Ivascu and Matei were nothing short of prolific and I’m pleased that we have been able to finally bring them to justice and put them behind bars.”

Three YHROCU officers were commended by the judge for their role in the investigation.

The pair targeted cash machines in 27 of England’s 40 police force areas, including West Yorkshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester, during their nationwide crime spree.