News

Leader of skimming gang arrested in Detroit

December 4, 2003

WIXOM, Mich. - U.S. Secret Service agents and Wixom police arrested Iljmija Frljuckica, an Eastern European man they say was a leader of a gang accused of stealing more than $3.5 million by installing ATMs across the country and rigging them with skimming devices to steal customers' account numbers.

The high-profile case, which has been widely reported in the New York Times and other outlets, was featured on "Dateline NBC" on Nov. 30, although officials said the arrest had nothing to do with the program.

According to a Detroit News report, Frljuckic, who is not a U.S. citizen, waived his right to an extradition hearing at an arraignment in U.S. District Court in Detroit. He will be returned to New York City to face a six-count indictment of conspiracy, bank fraud and access device fraud that was issued in May.

The indictment says the men defrauded more than 1,400 U.S. banks, installing more than 55 ATMs in California, Florida and New York. They acquired at least 21,000 bank account numbers and stole at least $3.5 million from those accounts.

Frljuckic and another unidentified man were arrested at the Baymont Inn in Wixom on Dec. 4, said Wixom Detective Sgt. Jim Osborne. The Secret Service was alerted to the fact that one of Frljuckic's credit cards had been used at a local restaurant and agents began looking for his vehicle.

Frljuckic had been staying at the hotel for several days, Osborne said, and the pair had been in the Detroit area for an unknown amount of time. He had at least nine aliases.

Agents pretended to be maintenance men who said the room had a plumbing problem to get the men to open the door. Frljuckic was arrested after a short struggle.

Agents found a large amount of cash and phony credit cards in the room, according to the Detroit News.

Robert Beller, assistant special agent in charge of the Secret Service in Detroit, confirmed Frljuckic's arrest at a Wixom motel, but declined to say if anyone else was in custody.