Man Charged In ATM Scam Seen In Bellingham

BELLINGHAM, MA — A Romanian man was arrested and charged Friday in connection to an ATM skimming operation that hit machines across New England, including in Bellingham.

Dragush Nelo Hornea, 26, appeared at federal court in Boston on Friday after being extradited to the U.S. from Germany. He was charged with racketeering and conspiracy to use counterfeit access devices, according to prosecutors.

Hornea and two other men conspired to place card skimmers inside ATM machines across the state, prosecutors said. When customers used the machines, the skimmers would extract debit card information, allowing the Hornea and others to extract money from bank accounts.

The skimmers were found in 10 machines from Bellingham to Amherst, in towns across Connecticut and as far away as Savannah, Ga., prosecutors said.

Hornea was initially charged along with 13 other people in 2017. He could face up to 20 years in federal prison, and fines as high as $250,000, according to prosecutors.