Feds in Virginia secure prison sentences in two card-skimming cases

Courtesy of RODNAE Productions

Feds in Virginia closed two credit card skimming cases so far this month.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) announced that Denis Monsibaez Diaz was sentenced to 37 months in prison for his part in a scheme that involved placing skimming devices on gas pumps in Northampton County.

The devices could read credit and debit card numbers and PIN numbers. Diaz and his co-conspirators would use that card information to withdraw money from victims' bank accounts at various Harris Teeter stores and other places, then purchase prepaid debit gift cards, the statement explained.

All members of the crew involved in this scheme are Cuban nationals according to EDVA, and Diaz is the seventh to be sentenced in the conspiracy. Authorities say over several years aggregate losses of over $5 million are attributed to the group.

The leader, Yasmani Granja Quijada, was found to be trading over 9,800 additional stolen credit card numbers using his email account over the past few years, EDVA added. On January 4, 2021, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy, the statement noted.

A boat and luxury vehicles were some of the items they bought with the stolen money that have been seized, it also revealed. Meanwhile, several members of this crew remain at large, says EDVA.

Another sentence issued

On the opposite side of the state, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia (WDVA) announced Marius Catalui pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

The Romanian came to the United States and got in on an ATM skimming conspiracy, working with others to obtain data, including card numbers and PIN numbers from bank customers, WDVA explained.

In addition to using the skimming devices, the group placed small hidden cameras on the ATMS and reencoded the stolen data onto blank plastic cards, says WDVA. And they used those cards to withdraw over $300,000, the WDVA statement revealed.

Did You Know: Virginia lawmakers tried but failed to reign in use of snare traps?