Jason R. Coody, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida
Daniel Balan, a 47-year-old Romanian national from Bacau, has been sentenced to over three years in prison for his involvement in an ATM skimming scheme in Tallahassee, Florida. Balan pleaded guilty to multiple charges including five counts of bank fraud, five counts of aggravated identity theft, possession of 15 or more access devices, and making a false statement to a federal agency.
According to court documents, Balan began placing skimming devices and cameras on ATMs in the Tallahassee area on January 28, 2025. These devices were used to capture customer account information. Between February 8 and 9, 2025, he used the stolen data to withdraw $56,340 from customer accounts. At the time of his arrest, authorities found 28 gift cards encoded with stolen account information and labeled with corresponding PINs.
John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, stated: “This offender exploited numerous innocent victims for his own financial gain, but thanks to the outstanding investigative work of our state and federal law enforcement partners he will enjoy an extended stay behind bars. My office will continue to aggressively prosecute these crimes to vindicate the victims exploited by these offenses and hold the fraudsters accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was involved in investigating the case along with the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. Nicholas Ingegno, HSI Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge said: “ATM skimming is not just a crime against individual account holders—it undermines public trust in our banking systems. Victims suffer financial losses and stress, banks and businesses face increased costs, and law enforcement resources are diverted to investigate these schemes. This sentence demonstrates HSI’s commitment to work tirelessly alongside our law enforcement partners to protecting our community from these fraud schemes and ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.”
Sheriff Walt McNeil of Leon County also commented: “The successful resolution of this case highlights the strength of our partnership with Homeland Security Investigations and federal prosecutors. Together, we were able to stop a sophisticated scheme that targeted innocent people across Leon County.”
The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin M. Keen and Eric W. Welch.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America—a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration as well as transnational criminal organizations.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one among 94 offices nationwide serving as principal litigators under direction from the Attorney General. More information about their work can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
