An Atlanta man was arrested and charged with credit card fraud and identity theft for his alleged participation in a group engaged in “skimming.”
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Steven Michael Jackson, 27, was the last defendant charged in the case. Eleven other people were indicted in August.
Jackson was charged Monday with conspiracy, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release. He was released on a $25,000 bond.
The 11 defendants charged are from Atlanta, Lilburn, Lawrenceville, Stockbridge and Columbus.
From about June 2009 to November 2010, the alleged co-conspirators are accused of using electronic devices known as “skimmers” to copy and store debit and credit card information from customers without their knowledge, according to the news release.
They then allegedly transferred the stolen information to the magnetic strips of blank cards using “encoders” before using the altered cards for purchases.
Some of the defendants worked at the businesses where the skimming allegedly took place, including a McDonald’s in Atlanta, a Polished Nail Salon in Lawrenceville, and a Krystal and a Shogun Japanese Steakhouse in Columbus.
Two of the defendants — Sean Carlos Deloatch, 25, and Antonio Escobal, 33, from Columbus — pleaded guilty to some of the charges in September.
The previous indictment included 16 counts of conspiracy, access device fraud and aggravated theft, but not all of the defendants are charged with each offense, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
