Four Men Jailed Over $1.6m Bank Scam

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday January 19, 2007

Geesche Jacobsen

FOUR men who skimmed $1.6 million from the accounts of 600 NSW bank customers were part of a Canadian-Bulgarian syndicate, a court was told.

The men, jailed for terms of between 16 months and 22 months yesterday, had not been the brains behind the operation but had been used because they had financial problems in Canada, Sydney District Court heard. They were to receive 10 to 20 per cent commission.

They attached fake card slots to bank machines and downloaded account information, and cameras filmed the account holders entering their PINs. The men often watched from a nearby cafe. After a few hours they detached the devices, put the electronic information on blank cards and matched these with the PINs.

They mostly withdrew money before and soon after midnight, so the daily maximum of $1000 could be withdrawn twice, the court heard.

When police raided their Dee Why flat in September 2005 they found more than $146,000 in cash, laptops, blank cards, card readers, skimming devices, small digital cameras and other equipment.

However, the court heard that Svilen Marinov, 29, had morally justified his offences after being told by the syndicate's leaders that customers would be compensated by the banks. "He had in this regard a very warped view of his behaviour as an ethical citizen," Judge Christopher Geraghty said yesterday.

Assen Dotchev, 23, had a cocaine habit, while Gueorgui Dinkov, 29, could not afford his university fees. Christo Sotirov, 46, faced losing his house in Canada.

Dinkov had become desperate for money and an easy target for manipulation, a psychological report concluded. "His social loyalty was to some extent manipulated," it said.

Sotirov was born in Czechoslovakia and the others came from Bulgaria, the country of origin of the syndicate's organisers.

The four men claimed they had received amounts between $2000 and $28,590 from the fraud. Police believe six or seven offenders escaped.

The men pleaded guilty and helped police. Marinov was jailed for a minimum of 22 months and Sotirov for a minimum of 20 months. Dotchev was jailed for 18 months, and Dinkov was to be freed yesterday after being in jail for nearly 16 months.

Dinkov is to be deported, as will the others on their release.

© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home