Three individuals from Europe have pleaded guilty to charges related to the fraudulent withdrawal of benefits intended for low-income individuals in California. The defendants, Ionut Calciu, Florian Serban, and Mohamed Hichem El Mabrouk, were charged with unauthorized use of access devices, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
The three men were apprehended during a multi-agency law enforcement operation targeting the theft of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) funds. They have been held in federal custody since February 2. The operation involved monitoring ATM locations across Los Angeles to identify those making multiple cash withdrawals using cloned cards encoded with stolen information from legitimate EBT cards.
Calciu admitted to withdrawing at least $31,000 from EBT accounts on February 2 without authorization. His sentencing is scheduled for August 29 by United States District Judge Cynthia Valenzuela. Serban acted as Calciu's driver and lookout during these illegal activities and will also be sentenced on August 29 by Judge Valenzuela.
El Mabrouk withdrew $25,480 on February 1 and an additional $2,420 the following day using fraudulently encoded EBT cards. He will face sentencing on September 5 by United States District Judge Michelle Williams Court.
According to court documents, over $126.8 million was stolen from victim EBT cards in 2024. This fraud targeted programs like CalWORKs and CalFresh that support low-income individuals' basic needs.
The investigation revealed that fraudulent withdrawals are conducted using cloned debit or gift cards encoded with data from legitimate EBT cards. Some involved in these activities possessed skimming devices used to record personal identification information.
Homeland Security Investigations’ El Camino Real Task Force leads the investigation alongside various law enforcement agencies including the Los Angeles Police Department and others across California.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Yervant P. Hagopian is prosecuting Calciu and Serban while Special Assistant United States Attorney Robert Quealy is handling El Mabrouk's case.