4 Canadian men charged in Vermont ATM fraud scheme

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Four Canadian men were charged Tuesday in federal court in Vermont for their alleged involvement in a cross-border ATM fraud scheme.

These charges resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Burlington (Vermont) Police Department.

Mathieu Baaklini, 21, Safwan Bensalma, 21, and Brandon Lo, 24, all of Laval, Quebec, and Nicolau Manfredi, 21, of Montreal, were each charged with conspiracy to fraudulently use access devices resulting in the receipt of more than $1,000 in cash. 

According to court records, at various times between March and October 2016, the four men traveled from Canada to Burlington, Vermont, where they used NBT Bank ATM machines in Burlington and Essex, Vermont to obtain cash advances on cards using stolen account information from Canadian accountholders.  ATM transaction records and bank surveillance video shows that on May 24, 2016, approximately $8,800 in cash advances were withdrawn using suspected fraudulent credit cards. 

Records further show that on May 25, 2016, one of the charged conspirators made $11,000 in wire transfers from Chittenden and Franklin Counties, Vermont to locations in Quebec.  ATM transaction records and bank surveillance video further shows that between August 22-25, 2016, NBT Bank incurred approximately $54,000 in suspected fraud activity in the form of 500 suspected cash advances on Canadian and European credit and debit cards. 

On October 21, 2016, federal agents executed a search warrant on a storage unit in Chittenden County, Vermont, where they recovered approximately $33,000 in cash, a laptop computer, a card-reading device, and approximately 378 gift cards with markings indicating that they contained bank account information on them.

The men were arrested by HSI special agents at the Highgate Springs, Vermont, Port of Entry as they attempted to enter the United States.

If convicted, the men face a maximum possible penalty of five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.

These charges are considered accusations only, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.  In the event of a conviction, their sentences will be advised by the federal sentencing guidelines. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin J. Doyle is handling the prosecution.