Romanian nationals charged with skimming EBT info, stealing from low-income Californians
Three people from Romania were charged last week in Oakland with stealing Electronic Benefit Transfer account information to make fraudulent cash withdrawals throughout the state, including Northern California, U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey said Thursday.
Electronic Benefit Transfer accounts, also known as EBT, allow California's low-income residents access to food and cash if they qualify.
The three defendants-- Petricia Mosneagu, 44, Ionut Sopirla, 38, and Virgil Tudorascu, 42, allegedly stole EBT information and used it to make fraudulent cash withdrawals from ATMs. Prosecutors allege that the victims of these thefts are largely low-income families who depend on EBT to buy food and other household necessities.
The trio are accused of using "cloned" EBT cards created from information gathered by "skimming" account holders' data at ATMs or point-of-sale terminals. Skimming devices record alleged victim account information on the magnetic strips and log their PINs through keypad overlays, prosecutors said. Once skimmed, that information is then loaded onto a blank or repurposed debit card. The defendants allegedly used these to withdraw cash and make purchases.
If convicted in federal court in Oakland, each defendant is facing up to ten years in prison.
Mosneagu, Sopirla and Tudorascu are scheduled to appear in court again on Wednesday for a detention hearing.
The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that over $22 million has been stolen from victim EBT card beneficiaries throughout the state between January and March of this year alone.