Petrica Mosneagu, 44, and Ionut Sopirla, 38, were arrested April 2 and placed in Santa Rita Jail. Virgil Tudorascu, 42, was arrested April 4 and placed in the same jail. All three men will appear in federal court in Oakland April 10 for a detention hearing, according to the statement.
The suspects were charged with using unauthorized access devices. If convicted, they could face 10 years in prison on each charge.
Skimming devices use a magnetic strip reader and keypad overlay to steal card information and PIN numbers from legitimate EBT cards. The thieves then use cloned cards to make cash withdrawals.
Law enforcement agencies across California have been investigating EBT theft for the past 14 months, the statement said. The state’s Department of Social Services says that in the first three months of 2024, about $22.8 million was stolen from EBT card beneficiaries, most via illicit ATM withdrawals, the statement said.
Victims were largely low-income families who depend on EBT benefits for food and household items.
The investigation was led by the U.S. Secret Service with assistance by multiple local and state agencies, and included the U.S. Secret Service Bucharest and Romanian National Police.
Last month, a Romanian national was sentenced to six years in federal prison for leading a group of ATM skimmers who also targeted EBT cards. Marius Oprea was ordered to pay nearly $30,000 in restitution. Oprea’s most recent residence was a rental in Port Hueneme, in Ventura County.
