Gheorgui 'Mitsubishi' Martov Got 7 Years for Running Chicago ATM Cash-Out Ring Using Card Data Stolen Abroad

Case from 2014–2017 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: March 26, 2014; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Seventeen people were charged in an international ATM skimming and money laundering case unsealed on March 26, 2014. FBI agents arrested 13 in the Chicago area and two were arrested in Sofia, Bulgaria, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1]. Prosecutors said Gheorgui Martov, known as "Mitsubishi" or "Mitsu," of Schiller Park, directed the scheme in the Chicago area.

Outcome for the alleged leader: Martov pleaded guilty in September 2016 to one count of wire fraud. In May 2017, U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman sentenced him to seven years in prison, CBS Chicago reported, citing the Chicago Sun-Times [2]. Court records show pleas and sentencings for a number of co-defendants between 2015 and 2017 [3]. We could not verify each co-defendant's outcome from public sources, so we do not name them here.

How the scheme worked

According to the indictment, as summarized by prosecutors [1]:

1. Stolen card data: Participants overseas obtained ATM and debit card numbers and their PINs in Europe and elsewhere without account holders' knowledge, and sent them to Martov, often by Skype or email.
2. Cloned cards: Martov handed the data to crew members, who encoded it onto the magnetic strips of blank or recycled cards.
3. Timed withdrawals: Crew members withdrew cash at Chicago-area ATMs shortly before and after midnight in the issuing bank's time zone, so they could get around daily withdrawal limits. They moved quickly, before banks could detect the fraud and shut the cards off.
4. Moving the money: Proceeds were split. Some were wired to Bulgaria and elsewhere through a Norridge money-transfer business, using nominee senders and receivers, prosecutors alleged.

At sentencing, Martov's crimes were described as a "direct assault on the system of transferring wealth," according to the report. The judge noted they did not involve drugs or violence [2].

The person sentenced

Gheorgui Martov, 39 at indictment, Schiller Park, Ill.

• Charged: 22 counts of wire fraud, four counts of money laundering, money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice (indictment returned March 12, 2014) [1].
• Plea: guilty to one count of wire fraud, September 2016.
• Sentence (May 2017): seven years in prison. He had already spent more than three years in federal custody, and was expected to be deported to Bulgaria afterward, according to the report [2].

Red flags

• Withdrawals you didn't make, especially clustered around midnight or in another country or city.
• Card readers that look loose, bulky or mismatched, or a hidden camera above the keypad.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Cover the keypad when entering your PIN, and prefer chip or tap transactions and bank-branch ATMs.
2. Turn on real-time transaction alerts and report unauthorized withdrawals to your bank right away. Federal rules limit your liability for debit card losses if you report quickly.
3. Report card skimming to your bank and local police, and to the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Gheorgui Martov, Schiller Park, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Guzman), 14 CR 131	Pleaded guilty Sept. 2016 to wire fraud; sentenced May 2017 to 7 years	[1], [2]

The sentence was imposed in 2017; we have not found a source on Martov's current custody or immigration status.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "17 Defendants Indicted In International ATM Skimming And Money Laundering Scheme; Two Arrested In Bulgaria," March 26, 2014. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/17-defendants-indicted-international-atm-skimming-and-money-laundering-scheme-two
2. CBS Chicago (Sun-Times Media Wire), "Tough-Talking Reputed Mobster Gets 7 Years For ATM Scam," May 5, 2017. https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/gheorgui-martov-sentenced-7-years-atm-scam-reputed-mobster/
3. CourtListener (RECAP), docket for United States v. Martov, No. 1:14-cr-00131 (N.D. Ill.). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7939618/united-states-v-martov/

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