Police find ATM skimming devices at KC area QuikTrips. Then they find their suspect
A man caught with numerous devices designed to steal PINs and debit card numbers from ATMs is facing federal charges in Kansas City.
He is identified as David Velcu, but had identification documents with different names from Italy and Romania, according to court documents.
Federal prosecutors said Velcu is from Romania and was living in Anaheim, Calif., after allegedly illegally entering the United States from Mexico last year.
He was arrested after an Olathe police detective tracked him to a motel in Independence.
Velcu, 23, was charged late Thursday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Kansas City with possessing 15 unauthorized access devices. The court documents allege that the charge involved 78 "re-encoded" magnetic strip gift cards.
Prosecutors said the financial information of dozens of people may have been affected.
Illegal devices are placed over card slots on ATMs and allow criminals to capture bank card numbers. Pinhole cameras are also installed to see when customers enter PINs.
The numbers are then transferred onto gift cards, which could be used to make purchases using an unwitting victim's information.
The investigation that led to the charges began earlier this month after unauthorized devices were found attached to ATMs at QuickTrips in Olathe and Riverside.
On April 7, a device was discovered on an ATM at the QuikTrip at 17840 W. 119th St. Store surveillance video from the QuikTrip and a nearby restaurant captured images of two suspects who appeared to be tinkering with the ATM, according to the documents.
Later on April 7, the suspects returned to the QuikTrip. An out-of-service sign was on the ATM.
"After staring at the ATM for an unusual amount of time," the suspect bought food and left the store, according to the documents.
That same day, another skimming device was found at a QuikTrip at 4600 N. Gateway Drive in Riverside.
From video surveillance, Olathe police detective Brian Peters obtained a license number for an Audi A6 driven by the suspects. He found that the vehicle had been serviced on March 30 at an east Kansas City business.
The manager there identified a picture of the ATM suspect as being the driver who brought the Audi in for service.
Peters, acting on a "hunch," according to the documents, decided to check motels in that area. That's when he spotted the Audi A6 in the parking lot of the American Inn at 13710 W. 42nd St. in Independence.
Peters called for backup from the Secret Service and Independence police. Several people got into the Audi and started to drive away, but were stopped nearby by Independence officers.
Velcu was driving with an Italian driver's license in the name of Luca Antoni, according to the documents.
As a result of the stop, investigators searched the Audi and a room at the motel. They recovered the illegal devices as well as equipment and supplies including super glue, memory chips and cards, circuit boards, lithium battery packs, cutting tools and three laptop computers.
Velcu made an initial court appearance Thursday, and federal prosecutors are seeking to have him held in custody without bond.
Prosecutors said they consider Velcu a flight risk, because of his immigration status.
This story was originally published April 20, 2018 at 10:24 AM with the headline "Police find ATM skimming devices at KC area QuikTrips. Then they find their suspect."