A man who tried to use fraudulent debit cards to take money out of an Athens ATM was charged Saturday with theft and multiple counts of data fraud, an official said.

Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson said his department received a call Saturday night from a security officer with First National Bank on U.S. 72 East. A man was observed using “mutable” (blank or dead) cards in an attempt to withdraw cash from an ATM.

The chief said officers Mac McWhorter and Blake Adams arrived and found the subject, identified as 34-year-old Marcus Diego Praxedes Macedo. Johnson said Macedo’s last known address was Atlanta.

After conducting an investigation, Macedo was charged at the Athens Police Department with 17 counts of encoded data fraud and one count of first-degree theft.

After being booked at the police department, Macedo was transferred to the Limestone County Jail, where he remained Monday. Bail is set at $17,500.