Chris Nagus Aug 31, 2018 Updated Aug 31, 2018

SOUTH ST. LOUIS COUNTY (KMOV.com) - Two men are in federal custody after an individual in south St. Louis County noticed something suspicious and called police at an ATM along the 4300 block of Telegraph Road.

Mrejuica Madalin and Laszlo Solomes are being held on suspicion of credit card fraud.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Albus said, “They were trying one different card after another.

Our records show they attempted 20 different cards in 10 minutes.”

The transactions took place on the ATM located outside the Patriot Credit Union on August 28.

Albus says Solomes, who is from Hungary, was refused entry into the United States at LAX Airport in 2017.

Albus say Madalin was traveling with a fraudulent Belgian passport. He is from Romania.

It’s unclear how both men entered the United States or how long they were in the St. Louis area.

According to federal authorities, they were staying at the Westport Sheraton, and it’s possible they came to St. Louis from Colorado.

Albus say the men were able to retrieve approximately $4,000 in cash from the ATM on Telegraph Road.

Authorities found additional counterfeit cards along with a card encoding machine inside their hotel room.

Peter Erbe is the manager of the Patriot Credit Union where the alleged crime took place.

Erbe said, “It’s frustrating. People go and get thousands of dollars. Some people are intelligent. If they would put effort into a real job they could make money without the risk of a prison sentence.”

Both Madalin and Solomes appeared before a federal judge on Friday.

Both men remain in custody awaiting detention and preliminary hearings set for September 6.

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