Three men from Europe were arrested in Wethersfield on Friday in connection with an ATM skimming spree in Hartford County, state police said.
Liberty Bank on Dec. 18 alerted detectives from the Connecticut State Police Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force that there was a skimming crew that had hit several ATMs throughout Connecticut after multiple victims reported fraudulent charges on their debit cards., according to the Connecticut State Police.
Liberty Bank told state police two alleged victims had multiple uses on their debit accounts coming from the same location in Newington with several attempted and completed ATM transactions. Additional incidents also allegedly occurred in Berlin and West Hartford, state police said.
During the investigation, detectives from the Connecticut State Police, the New Haven Police Department and the Southington Police Department developed suspect profiles as well as a suspect vehicle from surveillance footage recorded at financial institutions and businesses with third-party ATMs, according to state police.
“From this footage, detectives ascertained that the suspect vehicle was a BMW X5 SUV with CA registration plates,” state police said. “It was learned that the vehicle was a rental, having been rented from Los Angeles International Airport. Detectives learned that the rental was nine days overdue from being returned.”
Detectives started conducting surveillance in the greater Hartford area based on GPS location information provided by the auto manufacturer of the suspect vehicle, according to state police.
On Friday around 7:30 p.m., the suspect vehicle was located at the valet entrance of a luxury apartment building in Hartford. State police said surveillance continued as the vehicle traveled from Hartford into Wethersfield.
“The vehicle was observed to be stationary at various financial institution ATM’s for a period of time longer than the standard ATM transaction, to which a skimming device was later located and seized as evidence in this investigation,” state police said.
The vehicle pulled into a bank on the Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield just after 9 p.m. that night, according to state police. “Based upon the information developed to this point, detectives reasonably believed that the occupants of the vehicle were engaged in fraudulent ATM activity,” state police said.
Detectives from the task force boxed in the suspect vehicle at the bank’s ATM. Two of the individuals, identified as 22-year-old Tom Uzan of France and 23-year-old Ioan Kanalos of Romania, were arrested without incident, according to state police.
The driver of the vehicle, 26-year-old Tsounis Panagiotis of France, fled on foot, state police said. He was located a short time later behind a nearby strip mall and arrested with the assistance of the Wethersfield Police Department and Troop H in Hartford, according to state police.
All three were determined to be citizens of foreign nations, state police said.
During a search of the rental vehicle, state police reportedly located and seized a keypad overlay device that captures PIN code inputs; tools known to be used by skimmers, including adhesive, scissors and several long and flat metal objects used to insert devices into a reader; a shaped plastic object with a battery and a pinhole camera with an SD card attached; various sizes of spare SD cards; payment cards and gift cards with magnetic strips; cards containing the names of individuals not matching the three suspects; and a thin object containing a microchip processor believed to be a deep-insert skimming device.
As detectives retraced the path Panagiotis took when he fled on foot, they reportedly found more bank cards with magnetic strips which were found to contain financial information. State police also seized over $1,000 in cash found in the vehicle and on Panagiotis.
“The investigating detective later utilized a magnetic strip on the cards seized as evidence. All of the cards were found to contain financial data consistent with stolen debit/credit card numbers,” state police said.
All three men were transported to Troop H where they were processed, according to state police.
Panagiotis is facing charges of third-degree identity theft, third-degree computer crime, fourth-degree larceny, illegal use of a scanning device, fraudulent use of an ATM, illegal use of a payment card, illegal reproduction of a payment card, illegal possession of personal identifying information access device and interfering with an officer.
Kanalos was booked on charges of third-degree identity theft, third-degree computer crime, fourth-degree larceny, illegal use of a scanning device, fraudulent use of an ATM, illegal use of a payment card, illegal reproduction of a payment card and illegal possession of personal identifying information access device.
Uzan was also charged with third-degree identity theft, third-degree computer crime, fourth-degree larceny, illegal use of a scanning device, fraudulent use of an ATM, illegal use of a payment card, illegal reproduction of a payment card and illegal possession of personal identifying information access device.
All three men were each being held on a $500,000 bond and were scheduled to appear at New Britain Superior Court on Monday.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Det. Michael Grabowski via email at michael.grabowski@ct.gov.
