Page 14 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – Friday, February 15, 2019 Brazilian National admits to skimming ATMs (Editor’s Note: This story is based on a press release issued this week by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston.) B OSTON — A Brazilian national pleaded guilty this week in federal court in Boston to charges of ATM skimming in several towns north of Boston, including Everett. Alexandre Kawamura, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts of using counterfeit access devices (debit and credit cards), four counts of possessing device-making equipment (ATM skimming devices and pinhole cameras), and two counts of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for April 17, 2019. Kawamura, who legally entered the U.S. on a tourist visa, will be subject to deportation after he completes his sentence. Kawamura placed hidden skimming devices and pinhole cameras on Eastern Bank ATMs in Saugus, Stoneham, Medford, and Everett, every day between February 25 and March 16, 2018, when he was arrested. The purpose of the skimming devices was to record bank account information on the magnetic strips of debit and credit cards that unwitting victims inserted into the ATMs. The purpose of the pinhole cameras was to capture the victims’ PINs as they were entered on the ATM keypads. On March 8, 2018, Kawamura possessed a counterfeit debit card with a magnetic strip that contained the stolen bank account number of a Milton woman. At an ATM in Malden, ATMS | SEE PAGE 18
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