ROMANIAN NATIONAL SENTENCED FOR BANK FRAUD AND FALSE STATEMENT TO A FEDERAL AGENCY IN ATM “SKIMMING” SCHEME

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Daniel Balan, 47, of Bacau, Romania, was sentenced to more than three years in prison after previously pleading guilty to five counts of bank fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of possessing 15 or more access devices, and making a false statement to a federal agency in connection with an ATM “skimming” scheme. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This offender exploited numerous innocent victims for his own financial gain, but thanks to the outstanding investigative work of our state and federal law enforcement partners he will enjoy an extended stay behind bars. My office will continue to aggressively prosecute these crimes to vindicate the victims exploited by these offenses and hold the fraudsters accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Court documents reflect that beginning on January 28, 2025, the defendant placed “skimming” devices and cameras on multiple ATMs in the Tallahassee, Florida area. The devices and cameras were used to capture customer account and access device information. Then, between February 8 and 9, 2025, the defendant used the stolen information to fraudulently obtain $56,340 in customer funds. At the time of arrest, law enforcement found 28 gift cards in the defendant’s pocket that had been encoded with stolen account information and labeled with a corresponding PIN.

“ATM skimming is not just a crime against individual account holders—it undermines public trust in our banking systems,” said Homeland Security Investigations Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “Victims suffer financial losses and stress, banks and businesses face increased costs, and law enforcement resources are diverted to investigate these schemes. This sentence demonstrates HSI’s commitment to work tirelessly alongside our law enforcement partners to protecting our community from these fraud schemes and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.”

“The successful resolution of this case highlights the strength of our partnership with Homeland Security Investigations and federal prosecutors. Together, we were able to stop a sophisticated scheme that targeted innocent people across Leon County,” said Sheriff Walt McNeil, Leon County Sheriff’s Office.

The case involved a joint investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin M. Keen and Eric W. Welch.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America 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.

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 public court documents online, please visit theU.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.