A Florida man used fraudulent ATM cards and information belonging to other bank customers to withdraw thousands of dollars before law enforcement caught him in the middle of the scheme.
Guy Gerral Georges, 32, of Miami, has now been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to WJTV.
Federal prosecutors say Georges used a card programming device together with account information supplied by another person. The fraudulent cards allowed him to access the bank accounts of numerous individuals through ATMs.
Officers stopped Georges while the operation was still underway. The cash obtained through the fraud was found in the vehicle he was using and eventually returned to the affected bank, which reimbursed the customers whose money had been taken.
An Accomplice Supplied the Account Information
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi said another person supplied Georges with information that he combined with a card programming device. He then used fraudulent ATM cards to access accounts belonging to numerous people through various ATM machines.
Federal prosecutors say the operation obtained thousands of dollars from the compromised accounts, but has not published a more precise total.
Officers Caught Him While the Scheme Was Still Underway
The operation ended before Georges could get away with the cash he had withdrawn. Law enforcement officers stopped and arrested him in the midst of the scheme.
A search of the vehicle he was using recovered the money he had obtained through the fraudulent ATM withdrawals. The seized funds were returned to the affected bank. Prosecutors said the bank then refunded the amounts wrongfully taken from its customers.
He Pleaded Guilty to Three Federal Counts
A federal grand jury indicted Georges on March 4, 2025. He pleaded guilty on Oct. 14, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
On Aug. 17, 2026, a federal judge imposed a 24-month sentence for the bank-fraud conspiracy. Georges also received 24 months on each aggravated identity-theft count.
The two identity-theft sentences run concurrently with each other but consecutively to the 24-month bank-fraud sentence. That produced a total federal prison term of 48 months.
The U.S. Secret Service and Mississippi Attorney General’s Office investigated the case through their partnership in the Cyber Fraud Task Force.
Report an Unauthorized ATM Withdrawal as Soon as You See It
A customer does not need to lose the physical debit or ATM card for account information to be misused. Criminals who obtain card or account credentials can sometimes use that information to make unauthorized transactions while the legitimate customer still has the original card. The Federal Trade Commission recommends checking bank statements and account activity for withdrawals or purchases that were not authorized and reporting suspicious activity to the bank or credit union immediately.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says customers whose debit card, PIN or other access device is lost or stolen should notify their financial institution within two business days after discovering the loss or theft to receive the strongest federal liability protections. Different rules can apply depending on how the account information was compromised and when an unauthorized transfer appears on a statement.
Anyone who discovers an unauthorized ATM withdrawal should contact the bank immediately, identify the disputed transactions and ask that the affected card or account access be secured. The FTC also recommends following up a fraud report in writing and keeping records of when the suspicious withdrawal was discovered and when it was reported.