Authorities Say Eight-State, Three-Country ATM Skimming Operation Struck Quincy

Fourteen members of a group known as the "Horena Crew" faces charges after allegedly conducting a fraud and debit card skimming operation across eight states and three countries, according to court documents.

Some of the individuals were recently indicted in federal court and face a multitude of charges including conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, conspiracy to use counterfeit access devices, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering conspiracy.

According to an unsealed indictment in U.S. District Court in Boston, the individuals conducted an ATM skimming operation which involved obtaining the debit card numbers and corresponding personal identification numbers of unsuspecting bank customers using an ATM and thereafter making unauthorized withdrawals from those bank customers' accounts. Authorities allege that the group obtained the debit card numbers through a skimmer installed in a machine and a small, hidden pinhole camera was used to observe the victim's input on the keypad.

After obtaining the information, cloned cards were allegedly created. Typically the suspects would withdraw the maximum amount from the card holder's account.

On the South Shore, investigators found skimmers in ATMs located in Quincy and Weymouth, with unauthorized withdrawals occurring in Brockton, Quincy, Weymouth, Rockland, and Hanover. The money from the scheme was transferred across the country and into Romania and China and was sometimes used to buy more equipment for the scheme.

Prosecutors allege the operation ran from June 2015 to January 2017.

Some members of the scheme have been charged in court, more arraignments are expected this week.

Below is the full indictment:

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