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February 27, 2007

Update: 4 accused of stealing $115,000 via Stop & Shop

Surveillance photo from the Coventry Stop & Shop that the police used to arrest four men from California.

WARWICK -- Authorities said today that four suspects stole about $115,000 from about 1,100 local shoppers who used credit/debit card pin pads in a Coventry Shop & Stop.

The four men were arrested last night at the 900 Tiogue Ave. store.

The value and scope of the thefts were disclosed this afternoon as prosecutors argued to have the men held without bail at a Kent County District Court hearing.

Prosecutors say the thefts fit the pattern of similar schemes in at least five other cities: Atlanta, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Miami and Richmond, Va.

One of the men is not a U.S. citizen, while the other three are believed to be from California, prosecutors say.

They face various felony charges stemming from allegedly rigging pin pads at checkout counters to steal shoppers' banking data.

Prosecutors said that the 1,100 bank accounts affected were primarily at three local banks: Coventry Community Credit Union, Centreville Bank and Citizens Bank.

The suspects have been identified as Arutyun Shatarevyan, 20; Mikael Stepanian, 28; Gevork Baltadjian, 20, and Arman Ter-Esayan, 22. The judge set their bails at between $150,000 to $200,000 cash.

In court today, prosecutors briefly outlined what they think were the thieves' methods. After somehow rigging the pin pads to record pin numbers, prosecutors said, the suspects would create duplicate ATM cards. Then they allegedly withdrew money from the area banks in $400 increments; the maximum withdrawal is generally $500.

Faith Weiner, a spokeswoman for Stop & Shop, said the company had bolted down the pin pads in 385 stores from Massachusetts to New Jersey after a security breach was discovered earlier this month.

Prosecutors said that they believed the men were extremely high flight risks given their potential connection to similar crimes and other cities. All four men appeared in handcuffs today wearing the clothing they were arrested in last night -- generally jeans and long-sleeved tee-shirts.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples, with reports from Journal staff writer Paul Grimaldi and Kate Bramson

Posted by Steve Peoples  at 4:36 PM | Permalink

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