Five Romanian nationals have been indicted for allegedly stealing nearly $1,000,000 in SNAP benefits from low-income Ohio and California families.

Federal prosecutors say five Romanian men are charged in a conspiracy that targeted Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in Ohio and California, removing funds meant for needy households. The indictment alleges the scheme siphoned benefits from Electronic Benefit Transfer accounts and then sold or spent those stolen funds. Authorities describe a coordinated, cross-state operation that relied on tampering with point-of-sale equipment at retail locations. The criminal case is unfolding as federal partners zero in on organized fraud against taxpayers.

• Ionut Ilie, aka Ionut Dorabantu, aka Morgan Anderson, aka Ionut Craciun-Cercel, aka Lukas Hladky, aka Frederick Juhl, 44, not legally present in the U.S.;
• Constantin Eugen Ion, aka Piranha, 44, also a citizen of Mexico;
• Valentin Velicu, aka Grasu, aka Yanis Karagunis, 50;
• Dragos Georghie Vasile, 46; and
• Marian Alexandru Semplican, 23.

All five defendants face counts including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, conspiracy to commit identity theft, and sale or receipt of stolen government monies. Ilie is charged with an additional offense for reentry of a removed alien after two prior removals from the U.S. on Feb. 24, 2023, and Feb. 25, 2019. The indictment lays out alleged coordination and specific roles tied to the thefts and resale of benefits. Each count carries federal penalties that will be weighed at sentencing if convictions occur.

According to court filings, the conspiracy targeted the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helps low-income families purchase food. In Ohio, SNAP benefits are loaded onto Electronic Benefit Transfer cards that work like debit cards at retailers, and prosecutors say similar targets existed in California. The indictment describes the installation of covert devices and software at payment terminals to capture cardholder data. Evidence points to both theft at the point of sale and the secondary market for stolen benefits.

Defendants were taken into custody in a series of coordinated arrests across Ohio and California, though one suspect remained at large at the time charges were unsealed. Investigators say the operation involved mailing skimming devices and installing them on legitimate card readers in high-traffic locations where EBT users shop. The alleged pattern included testing card balances, draining accounts, and transferring funds onto blank cards for resale. That sequence of actions maximized returns while making detection harder for victims until balances were gone.

Prosecutors describe how the group used hardware and software to harvest data, then monetized it through sales and direct spending. The devices were designed to blend in with terminals and capture magnetic-stripe information when cards were swiped, enabling remote extraction or on-site cloning. The indictment specifically calls this method “POS skimming,” The devices blend seamlessly with the payment terminals, and victims are most likely not aware that their information has been compromised. Victims typically learn of the loss only after benefits are missing and transactions appear on account histories.

Postal mailings from California to local addresses in Ohio figure prominently in the alleged logistics, with skimmers routed through a UPS Store in Mentor in Lake County. Skimmers were reportedly installed at 7-11 stores in Toledo and Maple Heights and at Broadway Food Center in Toledo, with additional placements at gas stations around Cleveland and Toledo. Once skimmers captured data, defendants allegedly checked balances and drained EBT accounts, reloading funds onto blank cards that were then resold. That resale market turned stolen public benefits into cash or usable fraud cards.

When agents executed a search warrant at a residence in North Hills, California, they discovered a room set up as a workshop to build POS skimmers. Seized items included faceplates for EBT machines, keypads, wiring, schematics for overlay devices, tools used in construction, data extraction components, and multiple fake identifications. Those findings support allegations of systematic manufacturing and distribution rather than isolated tampering. For investigators, the stash of parts and documentation paints a picture of an industrial-style fraud operation.

Federal filings put the total stolen or attempted theft at about $961,000.00 during the conspiracy. If convicted, each defendant’s sentence will be set by the Court after reviewing case-specific factors such as criminal history, role in the offense, and the nature of the violations. The prosecution is being led by Assistant United States Attorney Duncan T. Brown for the Northern District of Ohio. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation was led by the FBI Cleveland Division along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also noted assistance from the United States Secret Service, the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, the Ohio Investigative Unit, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol-OSP Intelligence Unit. The case arrives as the Department of Justice rolls out a National Fraud Enforcement Division, an effort aligned with President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance, to aggressively pursue those who steal taxpayer dollars.