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2 men convicted in ATM skimming device scheme

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A man accused of installing card skimming devices on bank ATMs in at least six states, including Rhode Island, has pleaded guilty, according to U.S. District Attorney Zachary Cunha.

Mario Demarco, also known as Marius Lupu and David Ademec, admitted to a federal judge Wednesday that he and another man committed fraud by using those skimming devices to steal customers' banking information.

His suspected accomplice Stefano Garioli, also known as Dumitru Bogdan Pancu and Leon Vutkus, pleaded guilty back in December, Cunha added.

Cunha said the investigation began back in July, when a bank branch manager called the Warwick Police Department and told officers surveillance footage captured the two men placing the skimming device on a drive-up ATM.

Nearby security footage also captured images of their getaway vehicle, which Cunha said was spotted two days prior near a North Kingstown bank branch after a skimming device was discovered on an ATM there.

Both men were detained the next day in Cranston after their vehicle was flagged by one of the city's automated license plate readers. DeMarco was caught walking away from a nearby ATM, while Gariloi was found waiting in their vehicle.

The investigation revealed that the two men had worked together for more than two years to place skimming devices on ATMs in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania, according to Cunha.

Cunha said the men used the information collected from the skimming devices to clone counterfeit bank cards that were used to fraudulently withdraw money from the accounts of unsuspecting customers.

DeMarco and Gariloi are slated to be sentenced on May 6.


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