Contra Costa DA charges 2 in scam defrauding Californians on public assistance
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY – The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office has charged two "fly-by-night individuals" with multiple felonies and misdemeanor charges in "a sophisticated financial criminal scheme that defrauded hundreds of Californians receiving public assistance," prosecutors announced Thursday.
Florin Tanasa, 27, and Adam Nilsson, 30, each face seven felony counts, including second-degree commercial burglary, grand theft, theft, forgery, and conspiracy. Both also face misdemeanor charges of possessing and/or using a fraudulent scanning device.
Both men, neither of whom authorities say have known ties to the Bay Area, were arrested by Hercules police on Dec. 1 at a Bank of America branch on Sycamore Avenue.
A bank official called police after consecutive cash withdrawals from EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards at the bank's ATM.
A police search of their vehicle allegedly found 50 fraudulently cloned EBT cards, credit card skimming equipment, and thousands of dollars in cash.
The men both entered not guilty pleas Tuesday in Contra Costa County Superior Court in Martinez.
Deputy District Attorney Dana Filkowski filed a motion saying both men were flight risks, threats to public safety, and are also under investigation in the city of Belmont and Santa Barbara County for similar crimes. The DA's office says Hercules investigators established probable cause that funds used by the defendants to post bail would likely come from their criminal activity.
Judge Nancy Davis Stark granted Filkowski's request to set bail for both at $1 million.
"Nilsson and Tanasa are mobile perpetrators who have preyed upon California's most vulnerable residents," Filkowski said, in a statement. "Their financial crimes have bilked individuals and families of assistance they need for support. Had they been released on bail, they would have likely continued their criminal enterprise of defrauding those in need."
The DA's office says people can protect themselves from financial fraud at ATMs or point of sale machines. For more information, go to the California Welfare Fraud Investigators website at https://cwfia.org.