VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- A Russian who entered Canada with a fraudulent passport and joined other illegal immigrants in a $1.2 million ($790,460 U.S.) card fraud scam was sentenced to 26 months in jail, according to a report in The Province.
(See related story Canadian police arrest Russian in skimming case)
Dimitry Brezinev, 35, pleaded guilty to fraud on April 16. He was arrested Dec. 2, 2002 at a Royal Bank in Kamloops while attempting to withdraw money from an ATM with a bogus card. Police found 47 fraudulent debit cards in his jacket.
Provincial court Judge Eugene Sather described the crime as widespread and sophisticated and expressed amazement that it could be perpetrated "by people who can't even speak the language."
Crown prosecutor Don Mann said Brezinev used a Danish passport to enter Canada in September 2000. The former auto body mechanic and carpenter joined four other Russians to pull off a "very major, very sophisticated scheme of transactions" that bilked 3,900 Canadian cardholders out of more than $1.2 million.
The group purchased five ATMs and set them up in the Vancouver area. The machines were wired to record PINs and data from the magnetic strips of cards. Computer software seized in the investigation had the capability to write that data on to another card.
Shortly after Brezinev was arrested, police caught the four other Russians. Marina Kachin was arrested in Winnipeg with 45 fraudulent credit cards, $32,000 ($23,950 U.S.) in cash and a Dec. 24 plane ticket to Russia. Ioulia Rovenskaya, Sergei Shapar and Vladimir Savenkov were arrested in Ontario with 3,570 fraudulent cards, more than $240,000 ($179,627 U.S.) in cash and several plane tickets. Kachin and Rovenskaya have pleaded guilty to fraud charges.
(See related story Two women sentenced in Canadian ATM fraud)
Authorities believe that up to five other Russians may have been recruited to take part in the scam, according to the Province report.
