COWLEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a report of ATM skimming in Kansas and waiting for one of the suspects to be extradited from Texas.
A Houston, Texas, man is being held on a Cowley County District Court warrant stemming from three incidents reported to the Arkansas City Police Department in November and December of 2018.
Vasile Serban, 18, Houston, Texas, was served with a Cowley County District Court warrant while he was in custody in Texas for three incidents involving ATM skimming reported to the Arkansas City Police Department in November and December of 2018 and also an immigration hold, according to police.
Among the charges are three counts of theft by deception, one count each of criminal damage to property and theft, and more than 100 counts of identity theft. Police still are gathering information for the identity theft charges while they wait for Serban to be extradited back to Kansas for prosecution.
Police were notified in December 2018 that credit and debit card-skimming devices had been located on two automated teller machines (ATMs) in Ark City. Local banks notified affected customers.
Further investigation determined that the suspect had also successfully skimmed credit card information the and “cashed out” cloned credit cards in the Wichita area for nearly $18,000.
Also on Dec. 20, 2018, later in the day, officers took a report from Walmart that a male suspect had broken into the store’s iPhone display, removed an iPhone X Max and left the store without paying.
Surveillance video confirmed the description of the person who allegedly stole the iPhone matched that of a suspect from the credit card skimming incidents. The suspects were driving a maroon four-door Volkswagen Jetta, with a model year between 2006 and 2010.
A call to the police department reported that one of the skimmed accounts from Dec. 19, 2018, was used Dec. 31, 2018, at a convenience store in Houston
The department requests that anyone whose information was compromised as a result of these incidents please call ACPD Capt. Eric Burr at (620) 441-6601 or email him at [email protected].
Anyone who has any information about this crime or any other suspects in the case is asked to call ACPD Sgt. Jason Legleiter at (620) 441-4444.
Those wishing to remain anonymous may contact Cowley County Crime Stoppers, which offers rewards of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest.
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