MONROE COUNTY, Fla. — A Tallahassee man was arrested Friday on multiple fraud and theft charges following a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the use of stolen and cloned credit cards across several Florida counties, authorities confirmed Saturday.
MDSO deputies said Daniel Balan, 46, is accused of stealing and using multiple credit and debit cards in a coordinated scheme that targeted victims in Monroe County and elsewhere in the state.
Jail records show that he is facing multiple counts of grand theft and fraudulent use of personal identification information.
According to MCSO spokesman Adam Linhardt, seven victims reported in January 2025 that their bank accounts “had been illegally accessed, resulting in a combined financial loss of $5,203.”
Investigators determined that cloned credit and debit cards and compromised PIN numbers were used to make unauthorized withdrawals and purchases.
Linhardt said bank security footage helped identify Balan as the suspect.
Balan was later arrested in Leon County during a separate ATM fraud investigation, where authorities said he was caught in the act of making fraudulent withdrawals. Deputies reported he was also in possession of multiple re-encoded gift cards with manipulated PIN numbers.
They said Balan was wearing the same distinctive clothing and carrying the same items seen in Monroe County security footage, including a bicycle, helmet, face mask, backpack and wireless earpieces.
The investigation revealed what authorities described as a coordinated effort to evade identification by using cloned cards, stolen bank information and disguises across multiple jurisdictions.
Arrest warrants were obtained, and Balan was booked into jail on Friday, authorities said.
His bond had not been posted as of publication, and he is set to be arraigned on March 3.
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