Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to ATM Skimming Scheme Targeting New Jersey Bank
The United States Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, announced a Bulgarian native and Brooklyn, N.Y. resident admitted to a scheme to steal account information from bank customers by installing secret recording devices on ATMs in Nutley and Belleville, N.J. Viktor Kafalov, 28, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Kafalov admitted that he installed skimmers and cameras on the Valley National Bank ATMs in September 2008, and that after account and identification information was obtained, it was transferred and loaded onto blank ATM cards. The newly created cards were then used to make unauthorized withdrawals from the skimmed accounts. In addition to skimming, Kafalov and his co-conspirators inserted empty deposit envelopes into ATMs to falsely inflate the funds that appeared to be available in the accounts and allow them to withdraw more money. In all, Kafalov and his co-conspirators stole information pertaining to approximately 348 accounts, and defrauded Valley National Bank of approximately $278,144.
