CHEATHAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) – Cheatham County deputies arrested three men they said have been stealing tens of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting people in Middle Tennessee through credit card skimming.
Investigators said this crime spree has ties to international organized retail crime.
WKRN News 2 said two of the suspects are foreign nationals from Romania. One of the suspects initially claimed to be from the Czech Republic and had fake IDs to support that.
When questioned by detectives, the suspects allegedly confessed and said they come to the U.S. to steal money from Americans because they claim it is a ‘victimless crime’ since banks cover the loss.
The suspects were caught Dec. 12 when they were pulled over by a Cheatham County deputy on I-40 in Kingston Springs.
31-year-old Madalin Palanga, 31-year-old Geroge Zica, and Forrest Beard have been charged in connection to the crimes.
When police searched the vehicle they found components of an international credit card skimming operation, including passports, Romanian currency, airplane tickets, fake IDs and close to $6,000 that investigators say is stolen cash.
Investigators also found laptops and 159 stolen Walmart gift cards.
“They’ll shoplift these and steal thousands at a time. These are pin numbers, once they have this, all they have to do is go to a bank ATM, put your pin in,” Lt. Shannon Heflin told News 2.
Investigators also found eight skimmers that are sophisticated, wireless, and fit seamlessly over those used in checkout lines.
“They’ll make sure all this fits, these buttons fit,” Heflin said. “They have glue that has not dried. They have battery, radio transmitter and they slap it over and it fits perfectly.”
Cheatham County officials have advised the Secret Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to join the case. Whether it will be handled federally is unknown.
The alleged skimmers admitted to authorities that they look for debit cards rather than credit cards.
The men have a bond hearing Wednesday.