Romanian nationals plead guilty to Walmart thefts in Hempfield, North Huntingdon

Three Romanian nationals face potential deportation after pleading guilty to stealing gift cards from two local Walmart stores. 

Police said the two women and one man, who listed home addresses in Baltimore, initially claimed they were part of a global identity theft ring but with help from a translator told a Westmoreland County judge their actions were isolated in the scheme to purchase nearly $2,000 in gift cards with a stolen credit card.

Mindora Serban, 34, Vasile Catola, 28, and Maria Branchi, 27, pleaded guilty Thursday to felony counts of access device fraud and attempted access device fraud and a misdemeanor charge of theft. Prosecutors dismissed the most serious allegation of operating a corrupt organization.

Defense attorney Gary Gerson said his three clients’ poor English led them to mistakenly claim they were part of a larger crime ring.

The trio purchased $967 in gift cards with a stolen credit card at the Walmart store in Greengate Centre in Hempfield on Nov. 9, court records indicate. Attempts to purchase additional gift cards at that location were unsuccessful, police said.

The trio also used a stolen credit card to purchase another $964 in gift cards at the Walmart store in North Huntingdon that same day, authorities said.

Through an interpreter, Branchi apologized and said the gift card scheme was the first and last time she and her friends would be involved in criminal behavior.

“Everybody makes mistakes in life,” Branchi said.

Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio imposed terms of a negotiated plea deal that calls for all three defendants to be sentenced to three to 23 months in jail and be immediately paroled after being given credit for time served since their arrest in November.

Gerson said his clients are subject to a federal detainer filed by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and are likely to be deported.

“There is no intent to hold these individuals here because they’ve never been in trouble before. They’ll be removed to an (immigration) holding center and be processed,” Gerson said.