Romanian Nationals Indicted for Fraud Scheme To Steal Nearly $1M in SNAP Benefits from Low-Income Families

CLEVELAND - Five men have been charged for their alleged roles in a conspiracy to steal nearly $1 million worth of food assistance benefits from low-income families and individuals in Ohio and California.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging the following defendants. All are citizens of Romania:

• 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.

Each defendant is charged with:

• Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Mail Fraud
• Conspiracy to Commit Access Device Fraud
• Conspiracy to Commit Identity Theft
• Sale or Receipt of Stolen Government Monies

Ilie faces an additional charge for Reentry of a Removed Alien. He was previously removed from the United States twice: Feb. 24, 2023, and Feb. 25, 2019, after being found in the country without the consent of the Secretary for Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the U.S.

Defendants were apprehended in a series of coordinated arrests throughout Ohio and California, and one remains at large.

According to the indictment, the conspiracy allegedly targeted the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) which is intended to help low-income families and individuals purchase food. In Ohio, the SNAP benefits are loaded onto Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that can be used at retailers to purchase food. Court documents show that the conspiracy also targeted retailers in California with a similar scheme.

Through a form of financial fraud that takes place at the point of sale known as "POS skimming," the defendants allegedly conspired to install devices onto legitimate card readers at retailers that EBT card users frequent. The devices blend seamlessly with the payment terminals, and victims are most likely not aware that their information has been compromised. The devices are programmed with software to capture payment and personal information from the magnetic stripe when EBT cards are swiped.

To carry out the SNAP benefits theft in Ohio, POS skimmers were mailed from California to several local locations including a UPS Store in Mentor in Lake County. The skimmers were then placed at 7-Eleven stores in Toledo and Maple Heights, Ohio, and at a Broadway Food Center in Toledo. Investigators also found that skimmers were placed at gas stations throughout Cleveland and Toledo. Defendants then allegedly checked card balances before draining the EBT accounts of their funds to load onto blank cards which they then re-sold to others.

During a search warrant execution at one defendant's residence in North Hills, California, agents found a room that served as a workshop to manufacture POS skimmers. Among the items seized were faceplates for EBT machines, keypads, wiring, schematics for overlay devices, tools to construct the devices, data extraction components, and several fake IDs.

In total, approximately over $961,000.00 was stolen, or attempted to be stolen, during the conspiracy.

If convicted, each defendant's sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to the case, including prior criminal records, if any, roles in the offense, and the characteristics of the violations.

The investigation leading to the indictment was led by the FBI Cleveland Division, 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 acknowledges the assistance of 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.

Assistant United States Attorney Duncan T. Brown for the Northern District Ohio is leading the prosecution.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.