Related Federal Cases
- Joel Abel Garcia, ATM Skimming Conspiracy, New Jersey 2017 · New Jersey
- Stefan Dumitru, ATM Skimming, New Jersey 2016 · Illinois
- Bogdan Viorel Rusu, ATM Skimming, NJ 2023 · New York
- Bogdan Viorel Rusu, ATM Skimming Scheme, NJ 2024 · District of Columbia
- Radu Bogdan Marin, ATM Skimming, NJ 2024 · New York
Twelve Individuals Charged with ATM Skimming Conspiracy, New Jersey 2016
Twelve individuals have been charged with allegedly executing a scheme to defraud customers of Bank of America and PNC Bank through conduct known as ‘ATM skimming,’ announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman of the District of New Jersey.
The defendants, including Bogdan Viorel Rusu, Marcel Peckham, Catalin Mihai Dragomir, Eduard Vasilica Ticu, Stefan Dumitru, Zoltan Nagy, Silvester Florentin Papp, Joel Abel Garcia, Gabriel Mares, Florian Calin Crainic, Florin Mares, and Vasilica Adrian Hanganu, are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. All of the defendants have been arrested, with the exception of Nagy, who remains at large.
According to the complaint, the co-conspirators – led by Rusu – sought to defraud financial institutions and their customers by illegally obtaining customer account information, including account numbers and personal identification numbers. Between March 2015 and July 2016, the co-conspirators allegedly installed electronic equipment at ATMs at several banks across New Jersey.
The ‘skimming’ equipment allegedly included pinhole cameras and electronic devices capable of recording bank customer information encoded on the magnetic stripe of credit and debit cards. The co-conspirators allegedly transferred the stolen card data to counterfeit bank cards and subsequently used that data to withdraw cash from the compromised accounts using various means.
For example, on one occasion in January 2016, one of the defendants used counterfeit ATM cards encoded with stolen bank account information at four different Bank of America locations on the same day.
The co-conspirators are alleged to have stolen at least $428,000 from Bank of America customers in New Jersey.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigation’s Newark, New Jersey, Division; U.S. Secret Service’s Boston and New York Field Offices; East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Police Department; Cambridge, Massachusetts, Police Department; and Medford, Massachusetts, Police Department investigated the case with assistance from Bank of America Security and Fraud Section, PNC Bank Security Division and TD Bank.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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