14 DAY TRIAL // New York authorities have indicted a total of 13 individuals suspected of stealing payment card information by installing skimming devices at gas station pumps located all across the southern part of the US. The stolen information has been used to withdraw over $2 million (€1.5 million) from banks and ATMs in Manhattan.
According to the New York District Attorney’s Office, the lead defendants are Garegin Spartalyan, 40, Aram Martirosian, 34, Hayk Dzhandzhapanyan, 40, And Davit Kudugulyan, 42. They were arrested in March 2013.
They’ve been charged with money laundering, grand larceny, criminal possession of a forgery device, criminal possession of forged instruments, and criminal possession of stolen property.
The other defendants have been charged with two counts of money laundering in the second degree or money laundering in the third degree.
The suspects are said to have installed credit card skimming devices at Raceway and Racetrac gas stations in South Carolina, Texas and Georgia. The skimmers recorded not only card numbers, but also PINs.
What’s interesting about this scheme is that the crooks didn’t need to gain physical access to the devices in order to retrieve the stolen information. That’s because the data could be obtained via Bluetooth.
Authorities believe the lead defendants are responsible for encoding the stolen data onto blank cards. The money had been withdrawn from ATMs in Manhattan and deposited into bank accounts. The operation took place between March 2012 and March 2013.
Each of the fraudulent transactions was kept under $10,000 (€7,300) in order to avoid raising any suspicion.
“By using skimming devices planted inside gas station pumps, these defendants are accused of fueling the fastest growing crime in the country,” stated Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr.
“Cybercriminals and identity thieves are not limited to any geographic region, working throughout the world behind computers. In this case, the defendants are charged with stealing personal identifying information from victims in southern states, used forged bank cards on the East Coast, and withdrew stolen proceeds on the West Coast.”