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Defendant Sentenced in Large-Scale ATM Skimming Scheme
NEWARK, N.J. – Alin Carabus, a 43-year-old native of Romania, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to steal bank account information from thousands of customers through a sophisticated ATM skimming scheme.
Carabus, who was arrested in Spain and extradited to the United States, pleaded guilty to Count One of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. U.S. District Judge William J. Martini imposed the sentence in Newark federal court.
According to court documents, Carabus was part of a vast ‘ATM skimming’ scheme that stole bank account information by installing secret card-reading devices on ATMs throughout New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida, and elsewhere. The scheme, which ultimately defrauded Citibank, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, and multiple other financial institutions out of at least $5 million and impacted thousands of customers, was organized by Marius Vintila, 34, also a native of Romania.
Vintila and Bogdan Radu, 34, designed and constructed sophisticated card-reader devices and pinhole camera panels capable of reading and storing customers’ bank account information and personal identification numbers. Carabus and others then secretly installed devices onto bank ATMs and removed them a few days later after they had recorded customer bank account information as customers performed routine bank transactions at ATMs.
The stolen data was used to create thousands of fraudulent ATM cards, which Carabus and others used to withdraw millions of dollars from customers’ bank accounts.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Martini also sentenced Carabus to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution and forfeiture of $5 million.
The ATM skimming operation in which Carabus participated is one of the largest ever uncovered by law enforcement. To date, 15 of the 16 individuals charged in connection with this scheme, including Carabus, Vintila, and Radu, have been convicted.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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