Springfield man charged in elaborate ATM skimming operation

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A man arrested earlier this month in West Springfield has now been charged with a sophisticated ATM skimming operation in Rhode Island.

According to Cranston, Rhode Island Police, 33-year-old Ivan Gomez-Liriano of Springfield has been charged with multiple felony crimes, including computer access fraud, intentional access and alteration of computer data, and conspiracy to commit these felonies.

Gomez-Liriano allegedly installed card skimming devices at two credit union branches in Cranston and captured credit and debit card information of unsuspecting victims. Police received the first report of suspicious ATM activities on March 6 which led to a Fugitive from Justice Court warrant for his arrest.

On March 29 around 6:30 a.m., West Springfield police conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Gomez-Liriano and discovered he had a warrant in Rhode Island. Springfield police also issued an arrest warrant for Gomez-Liriano for an incident in October 2023 where a victim reported having multiple withdrawals from an ATM on Boston Road from an unknown person.

Gomez-Liriano was extradited to Cranston on Tuesday for his Rhode Island charges. His bail has been set at $5,000 and is scheduled to be back in court in July.

Cranston police said a vital tool used to help identify Gomez-Liriano as the suspect was the FLOCK license plate recognition system. The system was able to identify the suspected vehicle at various locations after the incidents and help piece together the suspect’s movement which led to his arrest in West Springfield.

“This arrest is a testament to the value of our FLOCK automated license plate reader technology coupled with the relentless efforts of our detectives, who worked tirelessly to end this criminal operation,” said Colonel Winquist.

Colonel Winquist added they were assisted by federal law enforcement partners in this investigation, including the United States Secret Service.