SAN DIEGO—A Los Angeles County man was sentenced Jan. 6 to more than three years in federal prison for building card skimmers that were secretly installed at gas pumps throughout Southern California in order to steal financial information.
Robert Fichidzhyan, 40, of North Hollywood, pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court to creating electronic card skimming devices that prosecutors allege were installed at dozens of gas stations.
Credit and debit card information was stolen and the defendants made unauthorized cards with that information, sold the information to others, or took the victims’ funds, according to prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Fichidzhyan and his co-defendants stole nearly $620,000 during his involvement in the scheme. His plea agreement states he personally received nearly $250,000 for his part….