Romanian Charged in NJ for Alleged ATM ‘Skimming’

Federal authorities in New Jersey have charged a Romanian man with being the alleged ringleader of an ATM `skimming' ring that stole millions of dollars from U.S. bank customers.

Marius Vintila was due in federal court in Newark on Friday. The 31-year-old Romanian national was arrested in Sweden and extradited to New Jersey to face bank fraud conspiracy, aggravated identity theft and other charges.

Prosecutors say Vintila ran a ring that stole banking and credit card information through installing devices on ATMs to "skim" customer account information and create fake ATM cards to withdraw money.

Prosecutors estimate that $3 million was stolen from Wells Fargo bank, and $1 million each from Citibank and TD Bank customers. The alleged thefts took place in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Florida.

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