Federal officials announced that a Romanian national was sentenced to 48 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to steal bank account information from thousands of customers by installing secret card-reading devices and pinhole cameras on ATMs throughout New Jersey and elsewhere.
Ionut Paraschiv, 35, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan imposed the sentence by videoconference on June 23.
According to court documents and statements, Paraschiv admitted he was part of an ATM skimming scheme that stole bank account information by installing hidden card-reading devices on ATMs throughout northern and central New Jersey.
Paraschiv previously acknowledged that he and his conspirators created bank cards using the fraudulently obtained account information, which they used to unlawfully withdraw large amounts of cash from various ATMs.
The scheme, which involved actual and attempted losses exceeding $1.5 million, impacted over 1,000 bank customers.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Paraschiv to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $443,277 in restitution.