Man Pleads Guilty to $1.2 Million ATM Skimming Scheme

RICHMOND, Va. – An Alexandria man pleaded guilty today to bank fraud in connection with a $1.2 million ATM skimming and cloned card scheme.

According to court documents, Roberto De Miranda Martinez, 43, was apprehended in the process of installing a card reading ATM skimming device and camera on an ATM in Colonial Heights. In skimming schemes, the reader picks up data from bank customers using the ATM and then the perpetrators use the data to clone duplicate cards to obtain funds from the customer’s account. An FBI investigation has uncovered approximately $1.2 million in losses from the scheme.

De Miranda Martinez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and bank fraud. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on August 1. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Adam S. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, Jerald W. Page, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office, Colonel Jeffrey W. Faries, Chief of Colonial Heights Police, and Ron Camacho, Chief of Chambersburg (PA) Police Department, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney S. David Schiller is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:18-cr-49.