A Chicago man was sentenced today to 89 months in prison for his role in a large-scale, long-running, and lucrative scheme to steal bank customer account information – commonly referred to as “ATM skimming” – by installing hidden card-reading devices on ATMs throughout New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Florida, and elsewhere, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Dinu Horvat, 29, was previously convicted on four counts of a superseding indictment – conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to possess 15 or more counterfeit access devices, and conspiracy to possess access device-making equipment – following a one-week trial before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini. Judge Martini imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Martini sentenced Horvat to five years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $7.4 million.
The ATM skimming operation in which Horvat participated is one of the largest ever uncovered by law enforcement. To date, 13 of the 16 individuals charged in connection with the scheme, including Vintila and Radu, have pleaded guilty.
SOURCE: U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey