Palatine man charged in identity theft scheme

A Palatine man faces charges that he used more than 20 different fraudulent, cloned debit cards to withdraw funds at a Schiller Park ATM, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Thursday.

Karl Dinev, 45, a native of Bulgaria, was charged with financial institution fraud, continuing a financial crimes enterprise and wire fraud. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

The phony debit cards contained bank account information from more than 20 individuals living overseas, Madigan said in a prepared statement.

"These charges should serve as an alarm bell to everyone to pay close attention to their financial statement and to immediately flag unauthorized transactions with their bank," said Madigan.

Last year, Illinois' Consumer Fraud Bureau fielded more than 2,500 identity theft complaints, including fraudulent charges on existing accounts, thieves opening new accounts in victims' names and fraud involving stolen checks, Madigan said.