The indictment alleges that once Martov obtained the ATM and debit card and PIN information he gave it to the following defendants to fraudulently withdraw money from area ATMs: Ivan Kotselov, 32, of Schiller Park; Georgi Vangelov, aka “Zhoro,” 26, of Schiller Park; Svetoslav Nedelchev, aka “Svetlyo,” 28, of Chicago; Daniel Yordanov, aka “Dani,” 29; Deyan Slavchev, aka “Dido,” 28, of Schiller Park; Karl Popovski, aka “Kiro Papata,” 23, of Chicago; Nikolay Todorov, aka “Niketsa,” 35, of Schiller Park; Mladen Gueorguiev, 25, of Chicago; Nedislav Gabov, 33, of Chicago; and Dimo Deshkov, 28, of Chicago.
After receiving the fraudulently obtained account data, defendants Kotselov, Vangelov, Nedelchev, Yordanov, Slavchev, Popovski, Todorov, Gueorguiev, and Gabov allegedly encoded the data onto the magnetic strip of blank or recycled cards. Once in possession of the encoded cards, various defendants traveled to Chicago-area ATMs to withdraw funds. The defendants, acting at Martov’s direction, made ATM withdrawals shortly before and after midnight in the timezone of the issuing bank in an attempt to circumvent the daily withdrawal limits on the victims’ accounts. The defendants also coordinated ATM transactions to withdraw money before the issuing banks could detect the fraud and deactivate the ATM and debit card numbers.
Martov was charged with 22 counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering in addition to the money laundering conspiracy and obstruction counts. Fourteen other defendants were each charged with one or more counts of wire fraud. Gospodinov was charged with four counts of money laundering in addition to the money laundering conspiracy.
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