Two California men were sentenced to prison today for their role
in stealing more than $90,000 from some 200 people in Northern
California by stealing personal financial information with a
sophisticated skimming device placed inside ATM and credit card
payment devices at gas station pumps.
This morning in Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez, the
two men pleaded guilty to all felonies they were charged with,
including conspiracy and identity theft. David Karapetyan, 32, pled
guilty to 37 felonies and received a seven-year prison sentence.
Zhirayr Zamanyan, 31, pled guilty to five felonies and received a
five-year prison sentence. Two other defendants, Edwin Hamazaspyan,
31, and Naum Mints, 21, are scheduled to appear in court on
February 15.
In March, the Attorney General's office took over prosecution of
the case from the Contra Costa District Attorney's office because
the crimes occurred in multiple jurisdictions throughout Northern
California. An amended complaint was filed in October.
The thieves acquired keys to unlock various kinds of gas station pumps. Once they opened the pumps, they were able to connect two cables inside to their two-inch electronic device, which looked like a circuit board encased in electrical tape, and recorded ATM and credit card data as well as victims' PINs. No tampering was visible on the outside of the pumps. The gang would later return to retrieve the skimmers, which took less than 20 seconds.
The investigation began in February when police in Solano and Contra Costa counties reported an increase in identity theft and a 7-Eleven store employee in Martinez noticed a skimming device inside a gas pump. Police removed the device, replaced it with a mock device and conducted 24-hour surveillance. Karapetyan and Zamanyan were arrested when they arrived to remove the device. In total, seven devices were found inside gas pumps in Martinez, Benicia, Livermore, Hayward, Oakland, San Mateo and Sacramento.
Banks have reimbursed the victims.
