An investigation by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office into stolen credit cards in multiple Florida counties led to the arrest of a 46-year-old Tallahassee on Feb. 6.
The sheriff’s office said Daniel Balan was charged with multiple counts of grand theft and fraudulent use of personal identification information. The arrest came after seven victims told the sheriff’s office last month that their bank accounts had been illegally accessed, resulting in a combined financial loss of $5,203/ The subsequent investigation showed cloned credit/debit cards and compromised PIN numbers were used. Bank security footage was used to identify Balan.
Balan was subsequently arrested in Leon County by the sheriff’s office there following an ATM fraud investigation wherein he was caught in the act of conducting fraudulent withdrawals and in possession of multiple re-encoded gift cards with manipulated PIN numbers. He was dressed in the same distinctive clothing and in possession of the same gear as seen in the security footage in Monroe County, including the same bicycle, helmet, face mask, backpack and wireless earpieces.
The investigation revealed a coordinated scheme involving the use of cloned credit cards, stolen bank information, disguises and deliberate attempts to evade identification across multiple jurisdictions.
Warrants were obtained for Balan’s arrest and he was booked into jail on Feb. 6.
