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June 20, 2013

Fairfax hospital ATM card skimming leads to arrest

BY: NAOMI JAGODA JANUARY 29, 2013 | 12:48 PM
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Topics: Fairfax County

A 39-year-old Falls Church man accused of attaching skimming devices to bank machines at local hospitals has been arrested.

Ioan Cicio was charged Monday with three counts of possession of credit-card forgery devices, three counts of credit-card theft, two counts of credit card fraud and one count of money laundering, according to Fairfax County police.

Officers removed a skimmer from an ATM at Inova Fairfax Hospital in September, and skimming devices were found on ATMs at Inova Fairfax Hospital and in Inova Fair Oaks Hospital in November.

The devices had been copying customers' ATM card numbers, and in the past several months, police received reports from more than one dozen people who might have been victimized. Some people complained that their cards were fraudulently used to buy groceries, expensive coffees, and to get cash from other ATM machines, officials said.

One of the cards that was compromised by a skimmer belonged to the Fairfax City firefighters union. Police identified Cicio as a suspect based on surveillance footage linked to that card, which authorities had tracked purchasing Home Depot gift cards, custom-made carpeting and high-end faucets.

On Thursday, police searched Cicio's home and recovered skimming devices as well as cameras and computers that might have been used during the crimes, officials said.

"Detectives did an outstanding job of putting together extensive documents, numerous tips and video in this complex investigation; it was a tremendous amount of work," said Lt. Tony Matos, supervisor of the Fairfax County Police Financial Crimes Unit.

Cicio may face additional charges, and other people could be arrested in connection with the skimming devices, police said.

njagoda@washingtonexaminer.com

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Naomi Jagoda

Staff reporter
The Washington Examiner
@njagoda Naomi on FB

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