Two men are facing charges in connection with an "ATM jackpotting" scheme to steal large amounts of cash from the machines in Miami-Dade.
Roman Leskiv, 28, and Vitalii Moravel, 32, who are Ukrainian but who both have addresses in North Miami Beach, were arrested Monday on charges including grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, records showed.
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According to arrest reports, detectives have been investigating ATM jackpotting incidents in Miami-Dade where hackers gain access to ATM hardware through card entry slots or maintenance ports to trigger "jackpot payouts" where large amounts of cash are dispensed.
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Investigators believe Leskiv and Moravel had been using a bank card they inserted into the ATMs to hack the machines, the reports said.
On Nov. 10, an ATM at a convenience store at 16689 Northeast 19th Avenue in North Miami Beach was defrauded out of $4,500, the reports said. Surveillance video showed Moravel entering the business and standing in front of the ATM, the reports said.
On Nov. 12, The U.S. Secret Service Miami Field Office was alerted about an ongoing ATM jackpotting crime at a machine at a Valero gas station on Northeast 6th Avenue in Miami.
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A total of 26 transactions were made at the ATM for $200 each, for a total loss of $5,200, the reports said.
Surveillance photos showed Leskiv and Moravel making transactions at the ATM around the time of the theft with the card, the reports said.
On Nov. 13, the Secret Service Miami Field Office was contacted by an officer in Miami Gardens who encountered Moravel at a food store during a call for a fraudulent ATM transaction, the reports said.
Moravel produced a Florida driver's license and various bank cards in his name and told the officer he was a Ukrainian soldier who travels and trains military personnel in different countries, the reports said.
Moravel was released after he was found to not be in possession of any bank cards that didn't belong to him, but the total theft at the ATM was found to be around $2,600, the reports said.
Authorities discovered Moravel had previously made illegal ATM withdrawals at a Marathon gas station in Miami Gardens, where the total loss was around $1,600, the reports said.
On Nov. 14, the card previously used by the suspects was being used at an ATM at 12300 Biscayne Boulevard, where investigators determined Leskiv withdrew around $3,500, the reports said.
Last week, authorities executed search warrants at the apartments of Leskiv and Moravel, who live in the same building.
In Leskiv's apartment they found numerous electronic devices, a credit/debit card electronic re-encoder, numerous blank cards with magnetic stripes, multiple readers for vehicle computer programming, multiple VIN number stickers, a bug detector for Wi-Fi Bluetooth and wireless devices and $652 in cash, the reports said.
In Moravel's apartment authorities found numerous Ukrainian passports that didn't belong to Moravel or his family, numerous electronic devices, a credit/debit card electronic re-encoder, a bug detector and $17,740 in cash, the reports said.
Both men were arrested and booked into jail. Attorney information wasn't available.
