Men Who Planted Data Skimmers on ATMs Indicted in Federal Court

Nazim Halil and Abdesselam Kharraz, both 20, of Canada, were indicted by a federal grand jury with one charge each of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, according to Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

Also charged was Joshua Day, 21, also of Toronto.

by on May 3 placing data skimmers on FirstMerit ATMs in Bath and Fairlawn.

FirstMerit called Bath police and asked for help searching for the men who put the devices on the machines. Data skimmers fit over the slot where cards are slid. The devices capture confidential information from the card's magnetic strip and transmits the information via text message.

The two men were seen walking across the Medina Road parking lot and were stopped going into a hotel, the police report said. Their description matched what security cameras on the ATMs captured.

Halil is also charged with two counts of having custody, control, and possession of device-making equipment, and Day and Kharraz are each charged with one count of having custody, control and possession of device-making equipment.

The indictment was presented to the grand jury by Assistant United States Attorney Christos N. Georgalis after an investigation by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service.

If convicted, the defendants’ sentences will be determined by the court after a review of factors unique to the case, including the defendants’ prior criminal record, if any, the defendants’ role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.