Man Pleads Guilty To Stealing Bank Info In Medford, Stoneham

MEDFORD, MA – A Brazilian man pleaded guilty this week to federal charges of ATM skimming in towns north of Boston, including Medford and Stoneham. Alexandre Kawamura, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts of using counterfeit access devices (debit and credit cards), four counts of possessing device-making equipment (ATM skimming devices and pinhole cameras) and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

Kawamura placed hidden skimming devices and pinhole cameras on Eastern Bank ATMs in Medford, Stoneham, Saugus and Everett every day from Feb. 25 to March 16, 2018, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. He used the skimming devices to record bank account information from the magnetic strips of debit and credit cards and the pinhole cameras to see the victims' PIN numbers, federal authorities said.

On March 8, 2018, Kawamura used a counterfeit debit card that had a Milton woman's bank account number to withdraw $500 from her account, the USAO said.

On March 16, he used a counterfeit credit card to buy clothing at a Dick's Sporting Goods in Medford. The card had an alias on it and contained the stolen bank account number of a Medford man, according to federal authorities.

Kawamura was arrested that same day after a bank customer reported a skimming device on a drive-up ATM at an Eastern Bank branch in Stoneham. Police found the camera still intact and waited at the bank for him to pick it up.

Kawamura was pulled over in a car rented under an alias, federal authorities said. He had a Brazilian passport in his real name and the counterfeit credit card that he had used to buy clothes.

His wife, Karem Kawamura, was arrested two weeks later and charged with one count of aiding and abetting the use of a counterfeit access device. She pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release. She agreed to be deported.

Kawamura will be sentenced in April. He will be subject to deportation upon his release.

The couple entered the United States on a six-month tourist visa, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Previously: Woman Sentenced For ATM Skimming In Medford, Malden: Feds

Couple Stole Bank Info In Medford, Stoneham: Feds

Image via Im Yanis/Shutterstock