August 17, 2015
A Romanian man pleaded guilty Monday as part of an international conspiracy to place skimming devices on ATM machines.
Zoltan Deak, 39, of Hunedoara, Romania, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Prosecutors say Deak was part of an international scheme that placed skimming devices on ATM machines, mostly in Europe, and used stolen account numbers and passcodes to withdraw funds from compromised bank accounts.
The stolen information allegedly was transmitted to Marius Zegrean and Alexandru Dragan, both of Reading, Pennsylvania. They allegedly took road trips across the United States, stopping every few miles to withdraw money from the compromised accounts.
Deak travelled to the United States in June 2013, allegedly to accompany Zegrean and Dragan on a trip to withdraw money and attach skimming devices on ATM machines. Upon returning to Reading from Florida, sheriff deputies in Clarendon County, South Carolina stopped Zegrean's Range Rover and searched the vehicle. The sheriffs found about $15,000 in stolen funds, 1,704 stolen bank card numbers and various ATM skimming devices.
Wyomissing Police later seized another 2,879 bank card numbers from Zegrean's computers.
Zegrean and Dragan previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the alleged conspiracy.
The FBI, Clarendon County Sheriff and Wyomissing Police investigated the case. The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs, provided extradition assistance.
