16 Bulgarians arrested in joint FBI, SANS investigation into card fraud
A total of 16 Bulgarian nationals were arrested in a joint operation carried out by the FBI and Bulgaria’s State Agency for National Security (SANS), Bulgaria’s Prosecutor’s Office said on March 26.
Two people were arrested in Bulgaria and 14 more in the US following a two-year investigation into bank card fraud and money laundering, the prosecution said.
The organised crime group in the US was skimming – stealing credit or debit card information used in otherwise legitimate transactions – and the two people in Bulgaria were intermediaries used to contact other criminal groups involved in skimming operations in other countries.
The card data passed acquired by intermediaries was then used to create duplicate cards and draw funds by the group’s members operating in the US.
The groups members will face criminal charges in the US, the prosecutor’s office said, without giving further details.
(Photo: foxumon/sxc.hu)
