Is An International ID Theft Ring Operating In Middle Tennessee?

NASHVILLE, TN -- An investigation of a string of recent ID and card fraud busts in Middle Tennessee have shown nearly identical modi operandi, all involving foreign nationals and encoded bank cards. Metro Police detectives think it's more than coincidence. In fact, they suspect an international fraud ring is operating in the area.

Saturday, police arrested 39-year-old Dragos Diaconu and 35-year-old Daniel Gargarita, who were carrying a French and Romanian passport, respectively, and both of whom were traveling on tourist visas. First Tennessee Bank's security team contacted police after the bank's Abbott Martin Road branch's ATM was allegedly used as part of a scam using encoded debit cards to withdraw thousands from people's bank accounts.

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The bank was able to provide a license plate number and suspect description to detectives, who arrested
Police say they found $5,000 in cash and 32 encoded cards inside the pair's car.

The circumstances were eerily similar to a bust earlier this month, when Metro Police arrested seven people in Green Hills accused in a similar scheme, all of whom were also traveling on tourist visas

"They're all using the exact same tactics," Sgt. Michael Warren of MNPD's fraud unit told WKRN. "They all have similar tools and protocols."

None of the people arrested this month had card skimmers in their cars, just cards and PINs, indicating they are part of a larger scheme, with other people installing skimmers and possibly pinhole cameras to record people punching in their secret numbers."

Warren told WKRN fraud rings often work like drug rings, with people lower on the hierarchy working for a higher-up.

"Ultimately what drugs are used for is to make money. Why deal with the drug aspect? Why not just go get the money from the get-go?" he told the station. "This is an underling, a worker for someone who is doing the intelligence gathering."

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