YOUNGSTOWN - Two men found themselves in the Mahoning County jail on Tuesday, 5,000 miles from their homes in Romania after federal authorities arrested them for an alleged $9 million online scheme to sell cars, motorcycles, and other items which were never delivered to victims in Ohio and elsewhere.

Costel Alecu, 37, of Bucharest, and Madalin Ghinea, 34, of Alexandria, were brought to the jail by U.S. Marshals where they awaited a video arraignment in U.S. District Court on charges of Wire Fraud, Trafficking in Counterfeit Service Marks, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, and Identify Theft.

Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget M. Brennan said the two Romanian nationals were arrested in their home country in March as part of a wide-ranging online auction fraud scheme that targeted victims in Northern Ohio and elsewhere in the United States.

According to the indictment, beginning in July of 2008 through August of 2020, Alecu, Ghinea, and others enticed their victims to purchase items online, including vehicles and other high-value items, that did not exist.

Investigators say they also obtained the personal identifying information of their victims who lost a total of $9 million.

Prosecutors say the suspects created accounts on various auction websites to post advertisements for goods that did not exist.

 In some cases, Alecu and others allegedly created and used fictitious websites, email addresses, and other forms of communication that contained counterfeit trademark information designed to convince their victims that the advertisements were genuine.

 The criminal group allegedly used fraudulent online communication templates and email addresses to deceive victims into believing that they were communicating with legitimate business representatives, when in fact, they were speaking with a member of the conspiracy.

The indictment states that around August of 2014, the two men exchanged a number of the fraudulent communication templates and the personal identifying information of their victims for use in the fraudulent scheme.  

The conspirators allegedly used a network of money launderers and money mules to obtain payment from their victims and transfer the funds overseas.

The suspects are accused of using stolen personal identifying information of their victims, credit cards and bank accounts to launder money overseas and fund the operation of their network by purchasing items such as Virtual Private Networks and domain names.