“Socalj” for Borderland Beat
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Orange County, California authorities arrested 48 alleged members of a Romanian crime ring who allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from low-income Californians by skimming their state benefit cards.
The suspects are accused of installing skimming devices in stores and using them to swipe the information off of EBT (electronic benefit transfer) cards, which low-income families use to buy food and baby formula.
Once they have the information, they bleed the cards dry, buying baby formula which they then bring down to Mexico – where formula is in short supply – and engage in trade with drug cartels.
“These are not victimless crimes,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The victims are single mothers struggling to put a roof over their children’s heads and food on the table and hardworking people who need a helping hand who find themselves standing at the checkout line with bags full of groceries only to be humiliated when they find that they have no money in their account because a thief has surreptitiously taken everything.”
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“I didn’t know what to do, I went hungry for two months,” she said.
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Skimming Scam
Members of the group would install card skimming devices at checkout stands, ATMs, and gas pumps across the area to steal EBT card information meant to provide help to low-income Californians.
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The suspects would then use the illegally obtained cash to fund their lavish lifestyles, including the purchase of luxury cars, according to the D.A.’s Office.
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| Florin Duduianu |
Duduianu Clan
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Duduianu has since been indicted by a federal grand jury for fraudulently accessing government assistance funds.
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Spitzer along with law enforcement officials are now calling on Gov. Gavin Newsom to implement chip technology for EBT cards, similar to when California issued the Middle Class Tax Refund via chipped debit cards in October 2022.
Authorities said the chip technology would make it more difficult for thieves to clone the EBT cards and illicitly withdraw funds.