Scottsdale police arrested four people in connection with tricking automated teller machines at three luxury Scottsdale hotels into spitting out more than $100,000 to buy drugs and prostitutes.
Tinkering with computers' complex innards is a "more sophisticated way" of robbing ATMs said Jack Hudock, spokesman for the Arizona Department of Financial Institutions, which regulates banks.
About a year ago, thieves were stealing backhoes to dig out ATMS, and truck them to remote areas where they broke them open, Hudock said. Since then, banks have put them at more secure sites.
Video surveillance tapes helped nab the two men and two women in the hotel ATM heists.
"This was quite an extensive investigation," said Sgt. Mark Clark, a police spokesman.
The three hotels identified by police were: Scottsdale Marriott Suites, 7325 E. 3rd Ave.; Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas, 6333 N. Scottsdale Road; and Hyatt Regency Scottsdale, 7500 E. Doubletree Ranch Road.
Over the past three months, the suspects allegedly inserted a device into card readers of the hotel ATMs, Clark said. The thieves then used computer hacking skills to manipulate the ATMs' internal programming, causing the machines to spit out more money than it should have, he said.
The money was to be used for prostitutes and drugs, Clark said.
ATM technicians who serviced the machines discovered that the amount of missing money didn't square with receipts, he said.
Police identified those arrested and their pending charges:
• Onik J. Darmandzhyan, 32, of Glendale, for burglary, two counts of felony theft and dangerous drugs.
• Michael J. DeMatteo, 32, of Scottsdale, for two counts of felony theft.
• Tiffany L. McGrath, 24, of Peoria, for felony theft, computer tampering and identity theft.
• Alissa M. Kerr, 30, of Scottsdale, for dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia.
Darmandzhyan and DeMatteo visited the Hilton several times over two or three weeks, Clark said.
About 3 a.m. on May 18, when the hotel was all but deserted, thieves loaded the Hilton's ATM onto a dolly and wheeled it into their truck. A security guard spotted them, described the truck and suspects to police, leading to their arrest. They were also caught on a surveillance tape.
The ATM was worth $4,650 and contained $7,840, according to a court document.
Police found a shattered ATM at DeMatteo's home, with a few thousand dollars still in it, Clark said.
No comments:
Post a Comment