Man Charged With Installing ATM Skimmers Across NJ: US Attorney

Cranford, NJ -- Linked to a large-scale, long running "ATM Skimming" scheme, a man from Romania was arrested for stealing bank account information from customers such as in Cranford, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced Friday.

Robert Mate, a/k/a “Chioru,” a/k/a “Marcel Varga,” 29 was arrested in Spain and extradited to the United States where he admitted to installing secret card-reading devices and pinhole cameras on ATMs throughout the country including New Jersey, according to the prosecutor's report.

Mate admitted in court to using counterfeit ATM cards at a Wells Fargo in Cranford to make unauthorized withdrawals of cash from stolen bank accounts on or about July 1, 2012, according to questions asked in open court.

• ATMs Targeted With Skimmers In Union County

Mate also confirmed removing a “skimming” device and pinhole camera panel from that Citibank ATM in Cedar Grove on or about Nov. 22, 2012, according to questions asked in open court.

Mate pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to Count One of a six-count indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Of the other two individuals charged on the indictment, Alin Dumitru Carabus was apprehended in Spain and extradited to the United States, and his case is pending, and Ionut Vasile Ciurba-Stana remains at large.

Mate could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

According to documents filed in this case and other cases and statements made in court:

Mate participated as a high-level member of an extensive scheme to steal bank customer account information, commonly referred to as “ATM skimming,” by installing secret card-reading devices on ATMs throughout New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida, and elsewhere. The scheme was organized by Marius Vintila, 33, who previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft charges.

The scheme defrauded Citibank, TD Bank, Wells Fargo, and multiple other financial institutions out of at least $5 million and affected thousands of bank customers.

Vintila and Bogdan Radu designed and constructed sophisticated card-reader devices and pinhole camera panels capable of reading and storing customers’ bank account information and personal identification numbers.

Mate and others then secretly installed the card-reader devices and the pinhole camera panels onto bank ATMs, and removed them a few days later after they had recorded customer bank account information as customers performed routine bank transactions at ATMs. After the account information was stolen, the stolen data was used to create thousands of false and fraudulent ATM cards, which Mate and others used to withdraw millions of dollars from customers’ bank accounts.

The ATM skimming operation in which Mate participated is one of the largest ever uncovered by law enforcement.

To date, 16 individuals have been charged in connection with this scheme; 13 have pleaded guilty, and one – Dinu Horvat – was convicted after a week-long trial.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 8, 2016.