ROMANIAN NATIONAL CHARGED FOR ATM “SKIMMING” CONSPIRACY

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Daniel Balan, 46, of Bacau, Romania, has been indicted in federal court for one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, five counts of bank fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of possessing fifteen or more access devices. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charges.

Balan is scheduled for trial before United States District Court Judge Mark Walker on August 18, 2025, at 8:30 a.m.

If convicted, Balan faces up to thirty years’ imprisonment on the conspiracy and bank fraud counts, two years’ imprisonment on the aggravated identity theft counts, and ten years’ imprisonment on the access device count. 

Homeland Security Investigations, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Tallahassee Police Department are investigating the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Justin M. Keen and Eric W. Welch are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.