Chicago—(ENEWSPF)—November 21, 2013. Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced criminal charges against a Chicago area man for illegally obtaining personal bank information and withdrawing funds from victims’ bank accounts nearly two dozen times.
Kiril Dinev, 45, of Palatine, was arraigned earlier today in Cook County Circuit Court for attempting to withdraw funds from a Chicago area ATM. Dinev was arrested at his home on Nov. 4 and was charged with financial institution fraud, continuing a financial crimes enterprise and wire fraud. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
“Identity theft crimes are a growing threat to consumers, most of whom are unaware they’ve been victimized in such a scheme,” Attorney General Madigan said. “These charges should serve as an alarm bell to everyone to pay close attention to their financial statements and to immediately flag unauthorized transactions with their bank.”
Madigan alleged that Dinev, originally from Bulgaria, used more than 20 different fraudulent, cloned debit cards to withdraw funds at the same ATM at a Walgreens store located in Schiller Park. Madigan alleged the phony debit cards contained the bank account information of more than 20 different victims living overseas.
The case was brought through a joint investigation by FBI, Secret Service and the Chicago Police Department and referred to Madigan’s office for prosecution. Assistant Attorney General Kathleen Duhig is handling the case for Madigan’s Special Prosecutions Bureau.
Last year, more than 2,500 identity theft complaints were filed with Madigan’s Consumer Fraud Bureau. Consumers reported incidents of fraudulent charges on their existing accounts, thieves opening new accounts in their names (including credit card, utility and cell phone accounts) and instances of bank fraud, such as stolen checks or fraudulent withdrawals made to a victim’s bank account.
Madigan created an Identity Theft Hotline, (866) 999-5630 or TTY (877) 844-5461, for one-on-one assistance to report suspected incidents of identity theft to local law enforcement and financial institutions and for help repairing their credit and for protecting their identities.
The public is reminded that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.
Source: illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
