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Couple indicted after allegedly recording ATM info on skimming devices

BOSTON — A Brazilian couple was indicted after allegedly using machines in ATMs to record bank information.

The incident came after an Eastern Bank customer in Stoneham called local police to report finding and removing a skimming device from a drive-up ATM.

Stoneham Police set up surveillance along with ATM security video, and eventually found 42-year-old Alexandre Kawamura driving up to the ATM on camera and allegedly looking around for a skimming device without ever putting in his ATM card.

Officers stopped Kawamura's car after the incident, and found a Brazilian passport in his name. The car Kawamura was driving was rented under an alias.

The same alias was found on one of Kawamura's credit cards, with bank information leading back to an Eastern Bank customer's compromised account. The bank information was used to buy clothes at Dick's Sporting Goods, which were later found in a police search of Kawamura's 25-year-old partner Karem's hotel room.

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Kawamura and his wife were arrested and charged on complaint, with Kawamura facing charges for using a counterfeit access device, possessing device-making equipment and aggravated identity theft. Karem was charged with aiding and abetting the use of a counterfeit access device.

The two were indicted in federal court in Boston on April 12, and are both in custody.