Florin Necula of Long Island City was one of at least four men who allegedly hit ATMs at banks in Queens, Manhattan and New Jersey, scamming the institutions out of tens of thousands of dollars, the complaint said.
Necula was arrested Jan. 21 by U.S. Secret Service agents at a Long Island City apartment after the agents allegedly witnessed them use devices known as skimmers that capture personal financial information and are used to withdraw cash from ATMs, the complaint said.
After being questioned, Necula was taken to Secret Service offices to be questioned and processed.
While there, he grabbed a flash drive containing financial information in his possession and swallowed it, the complaint said.
Doctors at New York Downtown Hospital later removed the device “because they were concerned that Necula would be injured if they allowed the flash drive to remain inside him,” the complaint said.
