Romanian National to be Sentenced for Participation in Fraud Scheme

ALBUQUERQUE - A Romanian national who participated in a large-scale fraud scheme, which used fake business websites to steal more than $1.8 million from consumers across the country, will be sentenced on March 11, 2026, at 10:00 AM in Las Cruces for the crime of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

In his plea agreement, Claudiu Pesteleu, 44, a Romanian national illegally present in the United States, admitted that from May 2023 through June 2024, he participated in a nationwide fraud scheme that used fake websites impersonating legitimate businesses to trick victims into wiring money for various consumer products, such as cars and equipment. Victims believed they were making legitimate purchases, but the funds were instead directed to the bank accounts of shell companies that were created with fake passports other fraudulent identity documents.

Pesteleu, whose role in this scheme was to help conceal the fraudulently obtained money, obtained fake identity documents and used those to organize sham businesses. He then opened bank accounts for these shell companies using these fake identity documents. These shell companies and aliases included Zammer Equipment LLC (Matthias Zammer), Super Exotic Deals LLC (Samuel Der Saar), Premier E. Liquidators LLC (Fred Laport), Adler Pre Owned LLC (Boris Adler), Bittman Motors LLC (Fritz Bittman), Nikkos Cargo LLC (Nikos Adonis) and Becker Automotive LLC (Karl Becker). Pesteleu also used the alias Thomas Muller. Consumers were directed to wire funds to accounts associated with these entities, believing they were purchasing legitimate goods.

In total, approximately $1.8 million in fraudulently obtained funds was wired by victims to bank accounts that Pesteleu controlled. Pesteleu then conducted numerous financial transactions with the money to conceal the source of the funds and to hinder law enforcement from identifying the scheme and seizing the proceeds.

If you believe you were a victim of Pesteleu, please contact the Homeland Security Investigations tipline at 866-347-2423.

If you would like to attend the sentencing, please contact Victim Specialist Jacquie Gutierrez at (575) 522-2304 before the date of the hearing for more information.

The Homeland Security Investigations Deming investigated this case with assistance from the Gainesville, Florida Police Department. Las Cruces Criminal Chief Richard Williams and Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Gardner are prosecuting the case.