Overview

• U.S. District Judge LaShonda A. Hunt imposed the sentence on Sept. 10 following a jury conviction in Chicago on bank fraud, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
• Investigators said Tarta and accomplices installed metallic skimmers with memory and power plus a pinhole camera on Bank of America ATMs in Chicago and New Jersey.
• The group later removed the devices, encoded stolen card data onto gift cards, and withdrew cash, causing $177,280 in losses.
• The scheme unraveled in March 2024 when Westfield, New Jersey police found a hidden camera on an ATM and arrested Tarta upon his return.
• Co-defendants Leonid Grigore Smetanca and Radu Farcas pleaded guilty and received prison terms of three and a half years and two and a half years.