Jan. 23—A man and a woman who live and work in Wyomissing were arrested after borough police said they duped a skills gaming machine in a convenience store into paying them $1,000 by repeatedly inserting a $100 bill tied to a string.

Haldun Ekinci, 34, and Gulshan Chilashvili, 38, both of the 1000 block of Park Road North, were charged Monday with unlawful use of a computer, theft by deception, receiving stolen property and related counts.

They were committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $25,000 and $20,000 bail, respectively, following arraignment Monday night before District Judge Sandra L. Fegley in Reading Central Court.

According to Wyomissing police:

On Jan. 9, an employee of G&B Amusements went to the police station to report fraudulent activity involving one of the company’s PA Skills gaming machines in the 711/Sunoco store at 624 Park Road North.

He said the machine was $1,000 short after a couple arrived in the store overnight, purportedly to play the gaming machine. From watching the security camera footage, it was revealed that a woman later identified as Chilashvili sat in front of the machine while a man identified as Ekinci stood beside her and watched.

In the footage, she is seen inserting a bill into the receptor, waiting for it to be scanned to receive credit, then pulling out the bill while simultaneously removing the receipt on the left side of the machine with her other hand.

The duo repeats this sequence until they got credit for $1,000 in two tickets for $500 each that they scanned at a nearby cash machine to withdraw the money.

The officer recognized both of the suspects in the footage as residents and employees of a nearby motel.

Arrest details were unavailable.