Three accused of pulling $60K from Arlington ATM

Published 8:47 pm Saturday, September 4, 2010

ARLINGTON — Three men face felony theft charges in connection with a scam that bilked more than $60,000 out of a local credit union’s automated teller machine.

Seven other people investigated in connection with the thefts are being offered a chance to enter a diversion program to avoid being charged with crimes, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Edirin Okoloko said Thursday.

The investigation began in November when Arlington police received a tip that people were stealing money from Boeing Employees Credit Union’s ATM in Arlington.

The thieves were able to manipulate the machine causing it to dispense twice the money it should have. They discovered that a software error coupled with a mechanical malfunction would allow them to get twice the money that had been debited from the account.

Three men were charged Wednesday with first-degree theft.

Video surveillance of the machine, captured numerous fraudulent transactions, according to court documents. One woman admitted that she and her boyfriend tampered with the ATM about 50 times. One man told police that he was a convicted felon who couldn’t get a job. His girlfriend was pregnant and he was using the money to live, court records said.

The man said he’d buy pre-paid debit cards at a nearby grocery store and use the cards to withdraw money and double his take. Another man told police he used the ill-gotten money to buy a Honda automobile, food and baby clothing. He admitted that sometimes he would steal from the ATM four times in one night.

The men told investigators that they told other people about the scam and showed them how to manipulate the machine.

They also convinced people to open accounts and turn over their debit cards to them. They would used the cards to steal from the ATM, Okoloko wrote in court papers.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.