Man Sentenced to More than Six and a Half Years in Prison for ATM Card-Skimming Fraud

CHICAGO - A man has been sentenced to more than six and a half years in federal prison for installing card-skimming devices on ATMs in Chicago and New Jersey to steal debit card numbers and PINs from unsuspecting victims.

FLORIN NICOLAE TARTA and two others installed the devices on numerous Bank of America ATMs. The devices consisted of a metallic plate on which a card reader, memory chip, and battery had been affixed. Once inserted into the ATM, the device could capture financial account information from users' cards. Tarta and the co-schemers also placed a pinhole camera near the ATM's keypad to record ATM users inputting their PINs.

Several days after the devices were installed, Tarta and the others removed them from the ATMs and used a computer to convert the captured data to magnetic strips on the back of gift cards. The defendants then used the counterfeit gift cards to withdraw cash at various banks. Losses from the unauthorized transactions totaled $177,280.

The defendants' scheme came to end in March 2024 when law enforcement located the hidden camera on an ATM in Westfield, N.J. Tarta was arrested when he returned to the ATM.

A jury in U.S. District Court in Chicago earlier this year convicted Tarta, 40, of Satu Mare, Romania, on bank fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft charges. On Sept. 10, 2025, U.S. District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt sentenced Tarta to six years and 9 months in federal prison.

Two co-defendants pleaded guilty and were previously sentenced in the case. LEONID GRIGORE SMETANCA, 45, of Satu Mare, Romania, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, while RADU FARCAS, 42, of London, England, was sentenced to two and a half years.

The sentences were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by the Westfield, N.J. Police Department.

"Defendant repeatedly engaged in criminal conduct that imposes an enormous toll on the U.S. economy," Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Hayes argued in the government's sentencing memorandum in Tarta's case. "Card skimming is a widespread problem plaguing financial institutions and consumers."