OC authorities cracking down on EBT card-skimming scheme

EBT skimming ring busted in Orange County

An EBT-skimming crime ring got busted in Orange County.

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - Orange County authorities Friday detailed a crackdown on what they say is an organized crime scheme led by Romanian immigrants that target public assistance benefits recipients.

Authorities said 48 suspects have been arrested in the scheme, which involves mainly the cloning of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer called on state lawmakers to use new microchip technology that would make it tougher for crooks to clone the cards.

Orange County Board Chairman Don Wagner joined Spitzer in calling for the chip technology that was used for tax refund cards that were issued in 2022 to help families in the state cope with rising gas prices.

"Help us get that message out to create that will (among state lawmakers) to protect those of us who are most vulnerable," Wagner said at a news conference.

"This is an organized crime ring coming through Romania," Spitzer said of the suspects arrested in the crackdown.

The country is "target-rich" to thieves, Spitzer said, adding, "And we know it ... And now they're targeting the poor."

Spitzer pointed to a crime scene photo of a vehicle loaded with baby formula to explain how the thieves were using the stolen money from public assistance benefits to get baby formula, "which is in dire need in Mexico," and trading it with "the cartel" in Mexico.

"America is under siege," Spitzer said. "When are we going to wake up and say enough is enough? ... They see the porousness of our borders and exploit us."

The state lost about $108 million in CalWORKS benefits stolen in so-called skimming schemes. In the local crackdown, law enforcement seized about $185,000 in cash and 491 cloned EBT cards worth $471,360 in potentially stolen money since May 1 of last year, prosecutors said.

Paul Walters, the chief of investigators for the District Attorney's Office, praised the 21 law enforcement agencies that partnered in the crackdown.

"It would have been impossible for our office to do it alone," Walters said.

Westminster Deputy Police Chief Cameron Knauerhaze said the suspects are "heartless criminals pilfering the pockets" of those who are most economically vulnerable.

Nu Kirby of the Orange County Social Services Agency advised recipients to change the passwords regularly, including right before the funds are deposited in their accounts, to prevent thefts. When a theft has occurred, she said recipients should cancel the card and call right away to get a new one.

Public assistance recipients should report any thefts within 90 days to get a reimbursement, Kirby said. She also advised covering a keypad with one hand when punching in a PIN so thieves can't look over the shoulder and steal it.

Kirby also said to never give anyone who calls a PIN because no legitimate authority would do that and it is a common ruse of thieves to steal identities.

In a related case in federal court, a non-jury bench trial is scheduled to begin Monday before U.S. District Judge John Holcomb in Santa Ana for 39-year-old Florin Duduianu, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to bank fraud but is still facing aggravated identity theft charges.

Florin Duduianu pleaded guilty Jan. 5 in federal court to three counts of bank fraud and a count of unlawful use of unauthorized access devices.

The defendant is allegedly the leader of the Duduianu Clan, the FBI alleged in court papers. He is listed on the country's most-wanted fugitives list, the FBI reported.

The defendant "fled Europe, illegally entered the United States, and traveled to the Los Angeles area," FBI Special Agent Rene Persaud said in an affidavit. "Since arriving in the Los Angeles area in 2021, Duduianu applied for legal immigration status and opened a bank account using fraudulent identity documents."

The Duduianu Clan is "involved in a scheme to steal personal identifying information" as well as Electronic Benefit Transfer card numbers and then using the data to steal about $1,850 in state benefits, Persaud said.

The defendant was arrested in August in Placentia withdrawing cash from ATMS using stolen cards, Persaud alleged.

The FBI agent said the defendant's group "is one of the most violent and influential organized crime groups in Romania."

Spitzer's office has filed charges in state court against: