Latest news with #banktheft
New York Times
12-08-2025
- New York Times
Mystery of Bank Theft Said to Be Iceland's First Is Solved After 50 Years
A 50-year-old Icelandic mystery has been solved, after one of the perpetrators of what is thought to be the country's first bank theft turned himself in to the police and confessed. The thief, then a teenager, and his friends, lifted a quantity of change that the police estimate would be equivalent to about $1,600 today from a bank that was being renovated. His reasons for finally coming clean 'should be left unsaid,' Icelandic police said in a Facebook post last week, which did not identify the person making amends. 'But of course,' the police statement added, 'it's always good to lighten your conscience.' The crime, in early 1975, had little precedent: A news article from the time shared by the police said that it was likely 'the first bank robbery in Iceland.' That characterization was slightly off, Gunnar Runar Sveinbjornsson, a press officer for the Reykjavik police, said in a phone interview: The perpetrators, who were about 14 at the time, did not use threats or force. That would make it Iceland's first bank theft, not its first bank robbery, he said. The man and his friends had noticed a bank undergoing construction work in Kopavogur, a town near Reykjavik, the capital. They got into the bank through a hole in its exterior wall that was covered with little more than a wooden shutter, but they could not access the vaults, according to the article. Instead, according to Mr. Sveinbjornsson, the teenagers took baskets of change. 'It was coins only,' he said, and they may have needed several trips to get it all out; the total was about 30,000 krona. The man said he and his friends had dipped into the spoils for drinks and food and other things 'to make themselves happy,' according to the police statement. He will not face prosecution. The statute of limitations expired four decades ago, Mr. Sveinbjornsson said. And if the police had caught them at the time, the perpetrators would have been too young to face prison in Iceland. 'The case,' the police said, 'is dismissed.'
CBS News
16-07-2025
- CBS News
2 men investigated for alleged ATM tampering in Michigan, Minnesota
Federal authorities are investigating two men in connection with a scheme referred to by authorities as "ATM jackpotting" and for allegedly targeting four banks in Michigan and one in Minnesota. One of the suspects, Robert Rosales Rivero, is scheduled for a detention hearing Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. His home state was not immediately available. No court date has been posted for the other person named in the case, Geniver Antonio Pinuela Testa, a citizen of Venezuela who has been in the United States since 2022 and had registered a vehicle in Florida last fall. The two were tracked to a hotel in Lakeville, Minnesota, where they stayed in October. The criminal complaint filed in the case charges both men with conspiracy to commit bank theft and bank theft in violation of federal law. A special agent with Homeland Security Investigations at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleged their efforts involved working as a team of two to tamper with the machine covers and the electronics inside. The intent is to allow someone to force the ATM to dispense cash. Investigators say money was stolen in this way at four Isabella Bank branches in Nottawa Township, Barryton, Midland and Clare in Michigan, and also at a Lakeview Bank in Minnesota. The charges pending in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan involve the Isabella Bank machine tampering, during which the bank lost a total $107,635. A similar tampering of an ATM at Lakeview Bank in Lakeville, Minnesota, resulted in an additional $14,400 being stolen, investigators said. Security video from the incidents showed suspects dressed in a similar manner, and approaching the ATM on an electric scooter. One of those security cameras was able to pick up on the face of one suspect, the report said, and the U.S. Border Patrol was able to obtain a potential identity match. That information helped lead investigators to the registration of a Florida vehicle whose location was picked up at a hotel in Shakopee, Minnesota. Further investigation and assistance came from Michigan State Police, Minnesota State Patrol, the Lakeview (Minnesota) Police Department and Shakopee (Minnesota) Police Department.
CBS News
15-07-2025
- CBS News
Woman arrested at Westmoreland County bank in fraudulent check scheme
A woman was arrested at the First National Bank in Murrysville for allegedly trying to steal money out of people's accounts, and police said she's been running a similar scheme across three states for some time. Sixty-three-year-old Jennifer Folzenlogen of Cincinnati, Ohio, is now facing charges of forgery, theft and identity theft after police were called to the First National Bank along the William Penn Highway on July 8. "A teller at First National Bank actually recognized Ms. Folzenlogen from previous bank surveillance photos and video," said detective Matthew Panigal of the Murrysville Police Department. "She had actually victimized the same bank back in April with the same teller working at the bank at that time." Police said the fraud worked like this: Folzenlogen would get ahold of someone's bank information, have a fake ID printed as that person and then go to the bank claiming to be that person and withdraw money from their accounts. Pennsylvania State Police began looking for Folzenlogen after she hit several First National Banks in Greensburg and Hempfield Township in the spring, and police now believe that she is responsible for stealing over $26,000 from personal accounts, just at First National Bank branches alone. But that's not all. "She is believed to be part of a larger theft ring throughout the Northeast that goes back to New York," Panigal said. Not only is she allegedly part of a larger out-of-state crime ring, but Folzenlogen is suspected of similar criminal activity in Ohio and has multiple active felony arrest warrants out against her from the state of Indiana. "Incidents like this, it is tough to protect yourself because they can steal the mail, they can steal your identity through public records sources," Panigal said. "So just keep an eye on your bank account, keep an eye on your credit." Folzenlogen is currently being held here at the Westmoreland County Prison. Her bail is now set for $150,000.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Yahoo
Ex-Mass. bank teller sentenced to prison for stealing money from Boston bank
A federal judge sentenced a Saugus man to prison for stealing bank funds when he was working as a bank teller at a TD Bank in Boston, United States Attorney Leah Foley's office said Monday. Derek Aut, 29, was sentenced to 25 months, or two years and one month, in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. Aut was ordered to pay $183,677.73 in restitution. Aut pleaded guilty to embezzlement by a bank employee and aggravated identity theft in March, Foley's office said in a statement. Aut worked as a bank teller when he stole from the bank accounts of two customers, the statement read. He did so by forging their names on withdrawal slips, but one of the customers noticed money was missing from their account. Aut tried to hide the theft by taking money from another account and depositing it into the other person's account. In total, the theft led to the bank losing more than $180,000. Lynn man pleads guilty to threatening online to kill elected official U.S. Marshals arrest 117 fugitives wanted for violent crimes in 9 Mass. cities Murder suspect who fled the U.S. after 2022 Lawrence shooting faces charges Man pointed Airsoft gun at a woman in Duxbury Beach, made threats, police say Funeral arrangements announced for Roxbury man killed in shooting Read the original article on MassLive.
CBS News
11-06-2025
- CBS News
Woman fraudulently withdrew thousands of dollars from multiple bank accounts, state police say
Pennsylvania State Police are on the hunt for a woman they say fraudulently withdrew thousands of dollars from bank accounts at three different institutions in Greensburg. State police are asking for your help identifying her after they say she stole $5,400 in a fraud scheme at three First National Banks. "The license is the picture of the woman standing in front of them, but that's actually not the consumer," Trooper Steve Limani said. Police say the unidentified woman walked into the First National Bank on Woodward Drive on April 7 around 1:15 p.m. The unidentified woman officials say fraudulently withdrew thousands of dollars from bank accounts at three different institutions in Greensburg. Photo Credit: Provided She deposited a $16 United States Postal Service money order, then withdrew $2,400 from a person's account. Roughly 20 minutes later, she popped up at the South Main Street Branch and again deposited a USPS money order for $16. During the second time, she didn't withdraw, but video surveillance shows her in the passenger seat of a white car. The suspect struck one last time, about half an hour later, at the North Main Street location under the same scenario, this time withdrawing $3,000. "We are concerned that there's maybe a cartel that she's working for or some type of other organization because this seems like this is a lot larger than one person," Limani said. Police are working closely with the U.S. Postal Service and federal agencies to see if the suspect is getting the victim's bank information through the Postal Service and if this scam is happening in other parts of the country. "My concern is, how are you getting your mail. I think as an investigator," Limani said. "Because they also have simple information like who else is on the account, things you would normally see on a mailed bank statement." If you know the suspect or have seen her around the area, you are asked to contact the state police.
