Romanian Man Pleads Guilty in $5 Million ATM Skimming Scheme

NEWARK, N.J. – ATM Skimming Scheme

A native of Romania who was arrested in Spain and extradited to the United States has pleaded guilty to participating in a large-scale, long-running scheme to steal bank customer account information by installing secret card-reading devices and pinhole cameras on ATMs throughout New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida, and elsewhere.

Robert Mate, a/k/a ‘Chioru,’ a/k/a ‘Marcel Varga,’ 29, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to Count One of a six-count indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and other cases, Mate participated as a high-level member of an extensive scheme to steal bank customer account information, commonly referred to as ‘ATM skimming,’ by installing secret card-reading devices on ATMs throughout New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida, and elsewhere.

The scheme, organized by Marius Vintila, 33, who previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges, defrauded Citibank, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, and multiple other financial institutions out of at least $5 million and affected thousands of bank customers.

Vintila and Bogdan Radu designed and constructed sophisticated card-reader devices and pinhole camera panels capable of reading and storing customers’ bank account information and personal identification numbers. Mate and others then secretly installed the card-reader devices and the pinhole camera panels 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 ATM skimming operation in which Mate participated is one of the largest ever uncovered by law enforcement. To date, 16 individuals have been charged in connection with this scheme; 13 have pleaded guilty, and one – Dinu Horvat – was convicted after a week-long trial.

Mate faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud to which he pleaded guilty. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 8, 2016.