Former college buddies charged in ATM scam

NEW YORK, July 29 (UPI) -- Four former New York University students are accused of concocting an ATM scam that allegedly netted them as much as $1 million since 2003, authorities say.

The four were arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court on 70 charges including grand larceny and falsifying business records, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

"This was a beaut of a scam," Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said.

To carry it out, the four allegedly set up accounts at as many as 50 banks in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and used disguises whenever they withdrew money, officials said.

They allegedly would then tell the banks they were victims of ATM theft and demand their money be refunded as required by law, the Post reported.

"Their excuses of how they lost their ATM cards were absolutely absurd," said prosecutor Karen Turner.

The alleged scam was discovered last August by a former Brooklyn homicide detective working as a bank investigator.