Janos Vaczi, ATM Fraud and Identity Theft, Pennsylvania 2019

A man with a history of entering the United States illegally has been sentenced to 42 months in prison for his involvement in a massive ATM fraud and identity theft scheme that spanned several months in Northwest Pennsylvania.

On March 10, 2023, Janos Vaczi, 51, appeared before United States District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter, who imposed the sentence in federal court. In addition to his prison time, Vaczi was also ordered to pay $106,341.07 in restitution, the amount of money he and his co-conspirators stole from unsuspecting victims.

The scheme, which began in March 2018 and continued until June 22, 2019, involved Vaczi and his accomplices installing ATM skimming equipment on multiple machines throughout Northwest Pennsylvania. This equipment captured the bank account and personal identity information of numerous individuals, which was then used to create new cards that were used to steal thousands of dollars from the victims’ bank accounts.

During the investigation, the FBI searched a storage locker that Vaczi had rented in the Pittsburgh area. Inside, they found hundreds of cards containing stolen bank account information, as well as $10,000 in cash, ATM skimming equipment, and numerous fake passports and international driver’s licenses bearing Vaczi’s picture but with different names.

Agents also discovered that Vaczi had attempted to bury hundreds of cards containing stolen identity information near a grocery store in the Pittsburgh area, but they were able to recover the evidence before it was destroyed.

Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. Acting United States Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their tireless efforts in investigating and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Janos Vaczi’s involvement in this massive fraud and identity theft scheme has resulted in significant financial losses for the victims, and his sentence serves as a reminder of the severe consequences of such crimes.

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