Two charged in ATM scam

Two men were arrested Wednesday evening and charged with what police called "an ongoing scheme using re-encoded ATM cards" to bilk Chase bank customers out of thousands of dollars.

Mihai Cristinel, 37, of Van Nuys, Calif., and Catalin Stefan Neagoe, 34, who has no known address, were arrested by Nassau County police Crimes Against Property Squad detectives in Dix Hills at 6:55 p.m.

Each was charged with third-degree grand larceny, 10 counts of second-degree possession of a forged instrument and first-degree fraud, police said. The two men were scheduled for arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead.

Police said an internal investigation by JP Morgan Chase helped uncover the scam, and CAP Squad detectives worked the case. They saw Cristinel leaving a Chase bank on Old Country Road in Dix Hills Wednesday night and followed him to a waiting car with Neagoe in it.

Police said detectives recovered 74 re-encoded ATM cards and $6,1,60 in cash. Police said the scheme had been carried out at bank locations in both Nassau and in Suffolk.