5 Arrested in Law Enforcement Operation Targeting Fraudulent Withdrawal of Benefits Designated for Low-Income Families

LOS ANGELES – A multi-agency law enforcement operation has resulted in the arrest of five illegal aliens who allegedly used information from “skimmed” electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards to “clone” counterfeit cards and steal funds that had been disbursed to low-income individuals by the State of California, the Justice Department announced today.

Three of the defendants have been ordered detained without bond, and two of the five defendants arrested on Sunday are expected to make their initial appearances in United States District Court today.

During the operation on Sunday, approximately 70 law enforcement officers began monitoring ATM locations across the Los Angeles area to identify individuals who were making multiple cash withdrawals with cards encoded with information that had been stolen from cards used by the California Department of Social Services (DSS) to provide CalFresh and CalWORKs benefits to qualified recipients.

Authorities made arrests after determining that the suspects making withdrawals at the ATMs were not entitled to access funds that had been deposited into accounts belonging to legitimate EBT beneficiaries.

“These defendants who are illegally in the United States targeted and stole from some of the poorest members of our community,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “This fraudulent activity has contributed to significant financial losses, undermining an essential lifeline for struggling families. The U.S. Attorney’s office, in close collaboration with our law enforcement counterparts, will continue to root out this criminal conduct and protect our most vulnerable citizens from further exploitation.”

“This successful operation targeted transnational criminal organizations that have been stealing from our less fortunate neighbors and the taxpayers,” said HSI Los Angeles Acting Special Agent in Charge John Pasciucco. “HSI Los Angeles and our partners will work day and night to ensure that this help continues to be available to those who need it most, and not in the pockets of greedy criminals.”

Late Monday, federal prosecutors filed three criminal complaints charging the five defendants with the use of unauthorized access devices (the cards with stolen EBT account numbers and PINs used to make the cash withdrawals). The defendants arrested Sunday allegedly made unauthorized withdrawals, obtaining as much as $25,480. The defendants named across three criminal complaints are:

• Marcel Musat, 53, of Romania, who is charged with one count of use of unauthorized access devices and allegedly had approximately 45 cloned cards on his person when he was arrested. Musat admitted to investigators he had overstayed his visa and therefore is illegally in the United States. At a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Musat was ordered held without bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 11.
• Ionut Calciu, 31, of Romania, who is charged with one count of use of unauthorized access devices and allegedly possessed 10 counterfeit EBT cards when he was arrested. According to court documents, Calciu previously was convicted of aggravated robbery in Romania. Calciu, who is an illegal alien, is scheduled to appear in court today.
• Florian Serban, 51, of Romania, who is charged with one count of use of unauthorized access devices and he allegedly possessed 58 re-encoded California EBT cards. Serban is due to appear in court today.
• Wesley David Adrian Dimoua-Moua, 36, of France, who is charged with one count of use of unauthorized devices and allegedly had 11 counterfeit EBT cards when he was arrested. Dimoua-Moua is a visa overstay illegally present in the United States. At a hearing Tuesday afternoon, Dimoua-Moua was ordered held without bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on February 24.
• Hichem Mohamed El Mabrouk, 35, of France, who is charged with one count of use of unauthorized access devices and allegedly was in possession of 37 re-encoded California EBT cards when he was arrested. At a hearing Tuesday afternoon, El Mabrouk was ordered held without bond. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 11.

DSS detected more than $126.8 million stolen from victim EBT cards in 2024, according to court documents. This fraud has targeted CalWORKs and CalFresh (previously known as “food stamps”), both of which are intended to help low-income beneficiaries purchase food and provide for basic needs.

The investigation has revealed that the fraudulent withdrawal of these benefits is done with “cloned” cards, which are debit cards, gift cards or other devices with magnetic strips that have been encoded with information from legitimate EBT cards. Court documents allege that at least some of those involved in the fraudulent withdrawals also possessed “skimming” devices that could be used to record personal identification information from victims.

Criminal complaints and indictments contain allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Homeland Security Investigation’s El Camino Real Task Force, which includes special agents with HSI and the United States Secret Service, as well as officers with the Los Angeles Police Department, is conducting the investigations in this matter.

A number of law enforcement agencies provided significant support during Sunday’s operation, including the California Department of Social Services, the United States Marshals Service, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Hermosa Beach Police Department, the Baldwin Park Police Department, the Culver City Police Department, the El Monte Police Department, the Inglewood Police Department, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General.

Assistant United States Attorneys Diane Roldán, Alexander H. Tran and Sophia Carrillo of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting these cases.